546 THE BOTANY OF FUNAFUTI, ELLICE GROUP, 



OKAGRARIACE^. 

 JUSSIEUA sp. 



Pickering* states that the U. S. Exploring Expedition dis- 

 covered Jnssieua angustifolia (T) in Polynesia, growing in wet 

 grounds, but possibly introduced with taro-culture. 



RUBIACE5:. 



Gardenia taitensis, DC. — " Taili." 

 The flowers are much prized for wreaths. 



Guettarda speciosa, Linn. — " Pua." 



The petioles longer and more slender than those of the plant 

 figured in Bot. Reg. t. 393. 



It is the "Pua-pua" of Samoa. Seemann says its name in 

 Fiji is " Buabua." 



The "Pua" of Rarotonga, (fcc, is Fagrcea Berteriana ;\ the 

 name of this plant is "Pua-vao" in Samoa. Pua is the name of 

 Gardenia sp. in Samoa according to Pratt (Samoan Diet.). 



The leaves of Guettarda speciosa in Funafuti are a foot long, 

 and often the same in greatest breadth. They are used for 

 covering in native ovens. The flowers are much used for wreaths. 

 The wood is rather soft, but is used in buildings, and some 

 inferior dishes and bowls are made of it. 



MoRiNDA citrifolia, Linn. — "Nonu," both here and in Samoa; 

 "Noni" and "Nono" are other spellings of the same name in 

 use in other islands. 



The root is used for making a reddish-yellow dye. The madder 

 of commerce is, of course, the product of an allied plant [Ruhia 

 tinctorum, Linn.). 



The fruit is, say, a couple of inches long, and of a yellowish- 

 green when dead ripe. It is not eaten by Funafuti natives, but 

 they have the idea that some white men eat it; it is, however, 

 most nauseous to an ordinary palate. The Rev. Thos. Powell | 

 states that in Samoa it is cooked as a delicacy for the sick. 



* ' The Races of Man.' Ed. J. C. Hall, 1854, p. 324. 



+ Wyatt Gill, ' Jottings from the Pacific,' p. 189. 



+ Journ. Bot. vi. 360. 



