20 



INDEX TO THE PACIFIC ISLANDS. 



to this region are phvllodineous and the rest of this pecnliar gronp is Australian. 

 Among RosaceEe the genus Acacna has one species peculiar to the Hawaiian Islands 

 while some thirty other species are South American. Of Pittosporaceae the genus 

 Pittosponim, which is Australian in large part, has twelve species in New Zealand, ten 

 in the Hawaiian Islands, six in Fiji, and one in Southeastern Polynesia. The family 

 Rubiacese contains 7% of the flowering plants peculiar to the Hawaiian Islands, 14% 

 of those peculiar to Fiji, and in New Caledonia some two hundred species are reported. 

 In all the islands there are three hundred species, while Australia has scarce one 

 hundred. There are several curious Composite in the Hawaiian Islands, Jl'i'/krsia, 

 ArgyroxiphiiDU and Roiiya. The genus Lipoclucta has one species in the Galapagos 

 while twelve are Hawaiian. Of the Campanulacese, besides five species of Lobelia., 

 there are five genera, Brighamia., Delissea., Rollandia., C/er7iiontia, and Cyanea peculiar 

 to the Hawaiian Islands, and another Apetahia peculiar to the Society Islands: the 

 family is not found beyond those two groups in Polynesia : the centre of the Lobeliacese 

 is American. Of the Urticaceae the genus Ficus has a dozen species peculiar to Fiji, 

 twenty-three (all but six peculiar) in New Caledonia. The Palms are all related to 

 the Malaysian flora. In the Filices the relationship is well shown in the following 

 table taken from Drake del Castillo: 



TYPE 



Asiatic 



Australian 



New Zealand 



American 



Cosmopolite 



50 p.c. 



CENTRAL AND EAST 

 POLYNESIA. 



50 p.c. 



20 

 2(j 



lo p. c. 



1 



4 

 2t> 

 32 



ALL OCEANIA. 



32 p.c. 



3 



IIS 

 44 



The paucity of edible fruits is a feature of the Polynesian flora as is also the 

 absence of poisonous plants on most of the islands. Although not rivaling the Ameri- 

 can economic woods in variety or beauty, there are nevertheless man}- choice timber 

 woods in the Pacific Region. The koa of Hawaii, the kauri of New Zealand, the kou 

 and kamani of the southern islands, and the eucalypti of Australia are both beautiful 

 and valuable, although many are fast disappearing and I know of no serious attempt 

 to cultivate them. 



Throughout Polynesia proper the Kalo ( CaladiiDii csciilfutniii ) was the staple 

 vegetable food, varied, in the southern islands with the Breadfruit (Ar/ocarpiis ///c/sa), 

 and to the west, especially on sand islands and in Micronesia, the fruit of the Paiidaiius 

 odoyatissitnus is an important addition to the dietary. Bananas, yams, sugar-cane, 

 kukui nuts, Canarium nuts, the fruits of some Myrtacese and A'acciniese were the prin- 

 cipal fruits of the ancient Pacific-islander : all the fruits that now abound in the gar- 

 dens and orchards have been brought since the time of Cook. 



For farther information on the Flora one may consult Roiiarqiics s/ir la FIoic 



de la Polvucsic par E. Drake del Castillo, Paris, 1890; A Lvclnrc 01/ Insular Floias^h-y 



[104] 



