SAMOAN GROUP. 119 



The islands of the Samoan Group contain two thousand six hundred 

 and fifty square miles, which are divided as follows, viz. : 



Savaii 700 



Upolu 560 



Tutuila 240 



Manono 9 



Apolima 7 



Manua 100 



Oloosinga 24 



Ofoo 10 



The soil of all the islands is rich, and arises chiefly from the decom- 

 position of volcanic rocks. At Tutuila, it was remarked that the 

 vegetation was luxuriant, and the trees of large growth. At Upolu 

 the forests seemed more sombre than those of Brazil, although the same 

 kind of growth appeared to prevail. 



The trees do not branch out until near the top, which renders it 

 difficult to obtain botanical specimens. The trunks are covered, and 

 even the summits of the trees sometimes overgrown, with the leaves of 

 the scandent Flagellarias and Freycinetias, a climbing Piper, and other 

 vines, as Hoyas, Convolvulus, &c. The lower part of the trunks are 

 enveloped with ferns, of which there are many varieties, and with 

 some species of Pothos, which give the whole ground a matted or 

 woven appearance. 



The woods in the interior of the islands are very thick, and often 

 composed of large and fine trees ; among them are, tree-ferns, a species 

 of banyan, pandanus, and several species of palms. Among other 

 plants a species of Cerbera was observed, w T ith beautiful clusters of 

 large and odorous white flowers, which yielded a quantity of white 

 viscous sap, that our botanist, Mr. Rich, thought might be manufac- 

 tured into caoutchouc. On the whole, the species of trees are much 

 more numerous than at Tahiti, and the vegetation in consequence 

 richer and more varied. The woods, however, are not enlivened by 

 showy flowers, and the few of these that are seen are of a white or 

 grayish hue, which is to be ascribed to their being but little exposed to 

 the rays of the sun, in consequence of the umbrageous foliage. Many 

 of the flowers seen on the ground were unknown to our botanist, as 

 were several fruits. 



Among the trees which have been named, that which struck us as 

 most remarkable was the species of banyan (Ficus indica), called 

 in these islands Ohwa. Some of these were seen, whose pendant 

 branches had taken root in the ground to the number of thousands, 

 forming stems from an inch to two feet in diameter, uniting in the 

 main trunk more than eighty feet above the ground, and supporting a 



