Ixxx Appendix. 
although this would have been very interesting to my French friends, it was · 
not so to me, as it had happened, curiously enough, that I had never gone out 
by myself without finding it, and they only knew it from my specimens, 
having never been able to meet with it, even when I directed them to the 
spot where I had gathered it. It is a curious enough plant from its true 
arborescent habit, but the flowers are not handsome, being dark green, stained 
on the lip with purple; they are somewhat remarkable for their coriaceous 
texture and for being sweet-scented, a character I do not recollect among 
Lobeliacee. There is a closely allied species at the island of Raiatea, which is 
much regarded by the natives, who consider it in some manner as sacred to 
the Queen. It is I believe, very rare. The flower is white, but otherwise 
just like the other, save that I do not hear that it is *noa-noa" (sweet- 
scented) ; the stems appear very succulent, and the leaves are lanceolate, 
finely serrated, and very much crowded on the ends of the branches. The 
native name is “tiari apatai"; “ tiari” means a flower, or more particularly 
the flower of the Gardenia ; I never could discover the meaning of the second 
word. I promised a woman who was going to Raiatea a new handkerchief if 
she would bring me up seeds or a plant of it, but she did not return before 
I left. I also promised a sister of the Queen's to give her a plant of the 
double Gardenia, of which I was the sole possessor, and which is so much 
coveted that I might have got for it almost anything I had chose to ask. 
I left the Gardenia with a friend who will give her the plant and forward the 
Seed to me when she gets it, which, through her sister, she will no doubt be 
able to do. 
I found that it would take, as the natives had told me at the pa, a whole day 
at least to get to the top of the Crown, and I therefore was obliged to give up 
the attempt for the time, fully intending to return some other day when I had 
more time at my disposal, but just when I was thinking of again making the 
attempt I received a message from the natives to request me not to come, 
because the natives at Punaria, another stronghold at the other end of the 
pass, were jealous of my having been there. I should still have made the 
attempt before I left the island if I had not been attacked with an illness 
which made me fear the effects of walking so much in the water, as I should 
have been obliged to do in ascending the valley. 
