278 SAMOAN PLANTS AND THEIR VERNACULAR NAMES. 
descent should be more rapid than agreeable. The fall may be stun- 
ning, but if it should induce them to respect the true limits of positive 
science, they will have gained something by their painful experience. 
ON VARIOUS SAMOAN PLANTS AND THEIR VERNA- 
CULAR NAMES 
By tue Rev. Tuomas Powe, F.L.S. 
[Before each word the natives use the article o le ; e. g. o le mosooi, 
o le sinapi, etc. The vowels have the Italian power and sound, the 
consonants the English, with the exception of g, which represents the 
sound of ng. The inverted comma between two vowels represents a 
semi-guttural sound, which in the neighbouring islands has the full 
sound of £ ; e. g. Samoa, iʻa (fish), pronounced with a harsh impulse of 
voice, becomes ika in Tonga. 
A‘a‘a, vel A*aa'a (Composita). An odoriferous herb, used for scent- 
ing oil. 
A'amau. Cocoa-nuts which, having fallen, spring up without hav- 
ing been planted. 
ano. The kernel of the Cocoa-nut. 
A‘atasi (Cardamine sarmentosa). Called on Niué * vakataha” and 
* horofa,”” 
Afa (Nauclea sp.?). A large tree. Branches spreading. Wood 
fine-grained, hard, durable, straw-coloured; useful for plane-stocks, 
etc. Leaves opposite. Stipules large, heir. Inflorescence in dense 
heads of white monopetalous flowers, each head enclosed by a pair of 
leafy braets. Fruit a capitulum of numerous 2-celled, many-seeded 
inferior carpels. 
Afía (Ascarina lanceolata). Found on the island of Taʻū only, the 
most easterly of the Samoan group. Much esteemed by the natives as a 
erfume, and eagerly sought from Ta'ü by the inhabitants of the other 
islands. The leaves are dried in the sun, and then mixed with the 
newly-expressed cocoa-nut oil used for anointing their bodies. With 
the dried leaves pillows are stuffed. 
Afía-váo (the bush Afia. A po arboreous shrub. Flowers and 
fruit chocolate-coloured. Fruit flat 
