5 74 A NATURALIST IN THE PACIFIC 



high on the slopes of Mount Seatura in Vanua Levu at an elevation of i,ooo 

 feet above the sea, the seed was similarly protected by a hard " stone " that 

 could only be broken with an axe, and the fruit was non-buoyant, with thin 

 and perishable outer coats. 



This mountain species of Fiji, which I may name Barringtonia seaturre, 

 has the general habit of B. racemosa, with which the natives persisted in 

 linking it ; whilst the fruit and foliage come nearer to those of B. edulis. 

 The leaves are entire, taper at the base, and have a petiole i inch long. 

 The fruits are oblong, at least 3 inches in length, and are obscurely angled. 



It would appear from Schimper's description (p. 173) that the fruits of 

 the Malayan Barringtonia excelsa possess both the hard stone-shell of the 

 inland Fijian species and the dry air-bearing fibrous husk of the littoral 

 species. This is of special interest, since the tree is both a coast and an 

 inland species. 



The following notes on the structure of the seeds of Barringtonia were 

 made whilst I was drifting about in my canoe in the creeks of the Rewa 

 delta in Fiji ; and whatever may be their deficiencies they have the merit 

 of having been written in the home of the plants. . . . When we cut across a 

 seed like that of B. racemosa or B. speciosa, we observe that the different 

 parts of the embryo are indistinguishable, being united into a homogeneous, 

 firm, fleshy mass. But if we look closely we notice a central fusiform 

 portion marked out from the surrounding parts by a faint line, along which 

 a delicate membrane of vascular tissue has been developed. When "ger- 

 mination " begins, though, as the reader will subsequently perceive, this 

 term is here hardly appropriate, the real nature of this singular structure 

 becomes more apparent, as is indicated in the accompanying figure. The 

 central fusiform portion proves to be the young plant without cotyledons 

 and growing at either end to form the root and the stem. The delicate 

 investing membrane becomes thicker and more apparent as germination 

 proceeds, extending upwards and downwards with the growth of the stem 

 and root and forming a cortical covering in either case. The investing 

 fleshy portion of the seed, which is now separable with the fingers, remains 

 attached to the lower part of the seedling for some time, being evidently a 

 source of nutriment, and gives a bulbous appearance to the young plant. 

 Young bulbous plants of B. racemosa, i to 2 feet high, are very common 

 on the edge of Fijian mangrove swamps where the parent tree thrives. The 

 seedlings of B. speciosa have the same appearance, but the outer fleshy part 

 of the bulb is not so thick. 



This structure of the seeds of Barringtonia speciosa and of B. racemosa 

 was for a long time meaningless to me, until one day, whilst seated on the 

 banks of the Lower Rewa, with a number of the sected seeds and bulbous 

 seedlings gathered around, I reflected that the fruits of the latter species 

 that floated past me in the river-drift were nearly always germinating. This 

 called up " vivipary " to my mind ; and as I looked at the Rhizophora 

 seedlings dangling from the branches of the mangrove-trees close by, it 



