ch. xxx RHIZOPHORA 



441 



America ; whilst the third, R. mangle, was until recently regarded 

 as peculiar to the American and West African regions. 



When Mr. Hemsley wrote the Report on the Botany of the 

 Challenger Expedition he remarked (iii, 149) that the American 

 Rhizophora (R. mangle) appeared to be restricted to that region, 

 and he questioned its existence in the PacTRc~^s4ands as indicated 

 by Jouan for New Caledonia. The same view was taken by Prof. 

 Schimper in his work on the Indo-Malayan strand-flora published 

 in 1 89 1. There was, in fact, much to support this view, since 

 Dr. Seemann, one of the most accomplished botanists who have 

 explored the Pacific, describes only the Asiatic Rhizophora 

 (R. mucronata) in Fiji, and nothing is said of any other species 

 collected by the United States Exploring Expedition under Wilkes 

 in Fiji and Samoa. 



However, in a paper on the flora of Tonga, read before the 

 Linnean Society in 1893, Mr. Hemsley includes the American 

 mangrove, Rhizophora mangle, amongst the collections made there 

 by Mr. Lister ; and he refers to its occurrence also in Stewart 

 Island (I suppose in the Solomon Group), but he suggests that it 

 was accidentally introduced with ballast in both these localities. In 

 1897 I found a species of Rhizophora, to all appearances identical 

 with the American species, in great abundance in the Rewa delta 

 in Fiji. Subsequently the same mangrove came under my notice 

 as the prevailing species in Vanua Levu in the same group ; and 

 on sending photographs of a branchlet in flower and fruit and of 

 the germinating fruit to Prof. Schimper he expressed the opinion 

 that they belonged to the typical Rhizophora mangle. 



There are four typical mangroves in Fiji, namely (1) Bruguiera 

 rheedii, the "Dongo" proper of the natives; (2) Rhizophora 

 mangle, usually known as " Tiri-wai," that is to say, the Tiri of the 

 river, or rather of the estuary ; (3) Rhizophora mucronata, the 

 " Tiri-tambua " of the Fijian, signifying the Whale's Tooth Tiri in 

 allusion to the form of its fruit ; and (4) a seedless form inter- 

 mediate between the two species of Rhizophora, which the Fijians 

 designate " Selala," a name signifying " the tree with empty 

 flowers." 



Bruguiera rheedii and Rhizophora mucronata were alone 

 recorded by Dr. Seemann and his predecessors ; but he significantly 

 refers to the natives speaking of four mangroves. Mr. Home, who 

 spent twelve months in the group some years later, also overlooked 

 the American Rhizophora ; but it is apparent that both these 

 botanists were naturally more interested in the vegetation of the 



