On the Botany of Tahiti. Ixxv 



all four species of Cyathea, the commonest being the lai^ge hairy species, 

 one of the handsomest I know, OjjMoglossum sp., and 0. 2-)en(lulum^ an 

 excessively rare plant, **" two oi' three Acrostichums, a Botrychium, two beantiful 

 epiphytal Lycopodiums, and a most exquisite terrestrial flat-branched species 

 resembling a fern in appearance, two species of Angiojoteris, the gigantic sweet- 

 scented species, nai or nahi of the natives, of which there is here the largest 

 specimen I ever saw, with leaves fifteen feet long, and the smaller eatable 

 species, or pura (purra), which the natives tell me is only found in three 

 places in the island. I observe that they are very difficult to distinguish in 

 the dry state ; when alive they are easily distinguished by the leaflets of the 

 pura being somewhat crumpled or bullate, while those of A. erecta are longer 

 and quite flat. Here, too, is the prickly fern found by M. Yesco, but over- 

 looked by me ; in fact, the wood is full of rare ferns, both terrestrial and 

 epiphytal. Here I found a plant which I should feel certain was a Commelina 

 if I had not been before deceived with what I afterwards found to be an 

 orchid. I have never been able to find it in flower, but have live plants doing 

 well. I have also found an Astelia, but forgot to pick up the specimen which 

 I tore down from the tree which I had ascended for the purpose. 



Passing the wood I began to ascend a steep wall of earth which forms the 

 extreme summit of the range, finding on the ascent a plant of the Bestiacece, 

 with leaves like a Marica five feet long, and, at the top, the Goprosma (which, 

 however, I need not have gone so high for), and the plant I have previously 

 mentioned as possibly one of the Celastracece, and which has, hitherto, been 

 only found in this place. There is almost as great a variety among the trees 

 and shrubs as among the ferns, but I do not recollect more than two or three 

 peculiar to this locality : one is an Urticaceous tree with spikes of fruit 

 resembling a Piper ; another, a very large-leaved Cyrtandra, making the fifth 

 species in Tahiti. Four species may be found at this spot : two of them 

 slender, twiggy shrubs, and the other two strong, iipright-gi'owing plants, with 

 leaves a foot long, and huge heads of sweet-scented white flowers, as large as 

 Achiraenes grandiflora ; one species is very common in all damp situations 

 inland, whether mountain or valley; it has thin wrinkled leaves ; the species 

 which I have only seen hei-e has equally large leaves, but they are fleshy, 

 smooth, and white underneath. It is a sti-ange thing that I have never but 

 once found a fruit on the common kind, although all the others ripen and seed 

 abundantly. In the common sort the peduncles are very short, and the 

 immature seed vessels appear always to be destroyed by the rotting of the 

 great fleshy mass of decaying bracts and calices surrounding them. They vvoukl 



* It was discovered by my friend M. Vesco that the sporules of Ophioglossum are 

 inflammable, like those of Lycopodimn, which they exactly resemble in appearance. Is 

 this generally known ? 



