An Enumeration of Niihau Plants. 



By Charles N. Forbes. 

 april, 1913. 



So little is known about the flora of the island of Niihau 

 that it was thought that an enumeration of the plants known to 

 occur there might be of some interest. As far as known Lay and 

 Collie sometime between 1826 and 1827, Jules Remy between 1851 

 and 1855, and Dr. Wm. T. Brigham in 1865, are the only botanists 

 who have visited this island. The only record of these collections 

 is the mention of a few peculiar indigenous species in Mann's 

 Enumeration, and in Hillebrand's Flora; 1 and it is doubtful if many 

 of the commoner introduced species were collected. 



During the month of January, 1912, Mr. J. F. G. Stokes of 

 this Museum had the rare privilege of visiting the island, and most 

 of the plants in the following enumeration are based on his collec- 

 tion. A few weeks later Mr. Stokes' native guide, Mr. Kalua 

 Keale, made a collection from the only small area which the}- had 

 not previously visited, so the list is probably fairly complete for 

 the island. Plants not observed by Mr. Stokes have probably 

 become extinct, or at least very rare. 



Niihau is an irregularly shaped island lying 15 miles west of 

 Kauai, and has an area of 73 square miles, with an elevation of 

 1304 feet for its highest point. About one-third consists of vol- 

 canic table land, this being surrounded on all but the eastern side 

 by a low rolling plain composed of both volcanic and coral rock. 



The northern end is a low plain of volcanic material, fringed 

 in the proximity of the sea with dunes of coral sand. Where these 

 two soils meet the herbage has a brighter hue, which Mr. Stokes 

 considers as due to an improved condition of the lava soil from the 

 addition of lime. 2 Along the eastern coast, to the south of Kii, dunes 



1 H. Mann, Enumeration of Hawaiian Plants, Proc. American Acad., July, 

 1867. W. Hillebrand, Flora of the Hawaiian Islands, 1888. I have not had 

 access to a copy of Hooker and Arnott Botany of Capt. Beechey's Voyage of 

 the Blossom, in which Lay and Collie's collection is described. 



2 1 have not had the opportunity to investigate this, but would consider 

 that it was probably due to there being more available moisture in the soil at 

 this particular locality. [99] 17 



Occasional Papers B. P. B. M., Vol. V, No. 3—2. 



