BOTANY. 359 



flowers are borne in great profusion, and have a very 

 imposing appearance ; their petals are uniformly white, 

 the filaments of the anthers pink. The fruit is a large 

 fibrous drupe, containing a four-seeded nut; when 

 bruised and mingled with an appropriate bait, and 

 thrown into the sea, it intoxicates fish, and thus facili- 

 tates their capture. 



Society Isles ; native name hutu. Timor. 



Hibiscus tiliaceus. This is a low distorted tree, 

 which forms a large proportion of the jungle, or " bush," 

 of Polynesian islands. Its leaves are like those of the 

 lime-tree, (Tilia,) and its flowers resemble those of the 

 hollyhock. The timber it affords is soft and light, and 

 is employed by the natives for many useful purposes, as 

 house and ship-building, and for paddles and out- 

 riggers for canoes. The bark is employed for the ma- 

 nufacture of cordage, and a superior kind of mat worn 

 by the chiefs. 



Society Isles ; native name purau or fan. Sand- 

 wich Isles, hau. Timor. 



(There is, at the Society Islands, a second and rarer 

 species of tree-hibiscus, which the natives call purau- 

 teraidi; it resembles the species last-described, with 

 the exceptions, that its leaves are downy and deeply 

 incised, and its flower has the margin of the corolla 

 jagged.) 



H. RosaSinensis. The brilliant scarlet flowers of this 

 plant are the largest and most ornamental these islands 

 afford, and are much used by the native females to de- 

 corate their hair. It is not uncommon for this species to 

 produce a monstrous flower: a tuft of large petals 



