1 84 A NATURALIST IN THE PACIFIC chap. 



occur, and they then display themselves as stout-stemmed climbers. 

 I have seen one or other of them in the mangrove swamps of Fiji 

 ascending the Bruguiera trees to a height of 30 feet and more, the 

 stem quite bare below, but leafing and flowering in the tree-branches 

 above. 



From the standpoint of dispersal there are few more interesting 

 plants in the Pacific islands ; but their discussion raises several 

 difficult questions, and it will be, therefore, requisite to treat them 

 somewhat in detail. With regard first to the diagnostic characters 

 between the species, it may be observed that, as a rule, they are 

 sufficiently evident, such, for instance, as the number, size, and 

 form of the leaflets, the presence or absence of foliaceous stipules, 

 and the colour of the seeds, though, as shown below, the seed- 

 colour in the case of Fijian plants does not always present a 

 constant distinction. Yet as I found in Fiji the difference between 

 the two species is not in all cases well pronounced, and inter- 

 mediate forms occur, about which it is sometimes difficult to 

 decide to which of the two species they should be assigned. 



Mr. Hemsley remarks {Bot. Chall. Exped. iii, 114, 145, 300) that 

 the two species have been often confused. I venture to think that 

 this has been in some cases due to the occurrence of these 

 intermediate forms. One has only to look at the different 

 " distributions " given by botanists for C. bonduc, as indicated 

 below, in order to suspect that the cause of confusion has been at 

 times with the plants themselves. When in Fiji I paid a good 

 deal of attention to this subject, and the results of the comparison 

 of the foliage and seeds of the plants obtained from fourteen 

 different localities in Vanua Levu are given below. 



It will be seen in this table that I distinguish in Fiji three 

 littoral forms and one inland or mountain variety, which may 

 perhaps be a distinct species. Those of the strand include 

 Caesalpinia bonducella, C. bonduc, and an intermediate form. 

 C. bonduc is typically distinguished by its large leaflets, by the 

 absence of foliaceous stipules, and by its pale yellow seeds ; whilst 

 C. bonducella is similarly characterised by its small leaflets, its 

 foliaceous stipules, and its lead-coloured or darkish grey seeds. 

 But in the first species the colour of the seeds may often be yellow 

 mixed with pale-grey, or almost white ; whilst in the second 

 species the seeds may be stained with brownish-yellow patches. 



It seemed to me when examining fresh specimens in Hawaii 

 and Fiji that the ultimate colour of the seed is a good deal 

 determined by the degree of alteration of the original olive-green 



