548 A NATURALIST IN THE PACIFIC 



NOTE 22 (page 43) 

 THE "TALASINGA" PLAINS OF VANUA LEVU, FIJI 



Amongst the most conspicuous features of the north and north-west or 

 lee sides of the large islands of Vanua Levu and .Viti Levu are the 

 extensive rolling plains that extend from the sea-border for some miles 

 inland to the foot of the mountains. It is to those of the first-named 

 island that the following remarks strictly apply ; but no doubt they will 

 serve equally well for those of the other island. In the first volume on the 

 geology of Vanua Levu, reference is frequently made to this subject, and 

 the reader may profitably look at the remarks there made. 



Here the mountain-forests more or less abruptly cease, and we have an 

 undulating region of grass, reeds, and ferns dotted over with Casuarinas, 

 Pandanus trees, Cycads, Acacias, and shrubby growths. Though the list 

 of plants characteristic of these plains is not small, they are not, as a rule, 

 numerous in any one locality, and the general appearance is one of aridity. 

 A dry, crumbling soil, often deeply stained by iron-oxide, is plentifully 

 exposed ; and blocks of basic volcanic rocks in all stages of disintegration 

 are strewn over the surface in many localities. Rivers, fed by the heavy 

 rainfall of the forested slopes of the mountains, traverse these regions, but, 

 as a rule, receive no tributaries ; and the districts have, in fact, well earned 

 the name given to them by the natives of the " talasinga," or sun-burnt, 

 lands. 



The vegetation, though sparse and scanty in comparison with that of 

 the forests, is sufficiently varied when it comes to be more closely examined. 

 In one locality we may have extensive tracts covered with Gleichenia, 

 Pteris, and other ferns of the bracken habit. In another, tall reeds 

 (Eulalia) and grasses cover large areas. Here, more than one species of 

 Tacca (T. pinnatifida and T. maculata) thrive. There, the Turmeric 

 (Curcuma longa) abounds. Trailing over the soil in one place we notice 

 Ipomea pes caprae, in another the Yaka (Pachyrrhizus trilobus), and in 

 another the procumbent unifoliolate form of Vitex trifolia. Amongst the 

 shrubs and small trees we observe in different localities the Sama 

 (Commersonia echinata), the Mbulei (Alstonia plumosa one of the rubber 

 plants), Mussaenda frondosa, Melastoma denticulatum, and Nelitris vitiensis, 

 the Nunga-nunga. Dodonaea viscosa, found in similar regions in Australia 

 and New Zealand, abounds in places ; and here and there may be seen 

 species of Hibbertia, another Australian genus. Fagraea Berteriana, the 

 Mbua tree, grows abundantly in certain districts, as in the Mbua plains, 

 and Gardenias are at times abundant. One or two characteristic beach- 

 plants have been already mentioned, and amongst others particularly 

 frequent in these plains are Cassytha filiformis, Cerbera Odollam, Morinda 

 citrifolia, and Premna tahitensis. 



When these talasinga districts approach the forests, patches of wood 



