236 
Chr. Luerssen 
After a house has been burnt down, these posls are almost 
thc only trace that remains. It is also customary to inake the 
ridge pole of houses and temples of this tree-fern, and lo 
surround it with the Wa-Kalou (holy creeper) , a species of 
that curious genus of climbing Ferns (Lygodyction) partially 'no 
doubt from soine superstitions notious, but partially also to 
keep out the wet. The trunks of the Balabala, eut into orna¬ 
mental forms, are frequently observed around tombs, temples, 
ehurches, and bures, presenting a pretty effecl. The little sticks, 
which the chiefs carry, stuck under their turban, and with 
which they scratch their heads, are also made of Balabala. The 
young leaves are eaten in times of scarcity, while the soft scales 
covering the footstalks or more correctly speaking the stipes of 
the fronds, are used for stuffing pillows and cushions by the 
white settlers in preference to feathers, because they do not 
become so fteated, and are a real luxury in a sultry tropical night. 
The »Balabala« is common all over the group, espeeially on the 
weather-side, and its trunk attains the height of about 25 feet 
and 8 or 10 inches in thickness. The fronds form a magnificent 
crown of gigantic dimensions, rendering the plant a noble feature 
in the landscape.« (Seemann, Yiti, pag. 366.) 
26. Cyathea Sm. 
175. Cyathea propinqua Metten. 
Mett. Ann. M. B. Lugd. Bat. I. 56. 
Cyathea affinis Brack. Fil. U. S. Expl. Exped. 283 t. spec. Hook, et 
Bak. Syn. Fil. 27 part. (non Sw.) 
Yiti-Inseln: Brackenridge! Harvey ! 
Samoa-Inseln. Upolu; montane Region, M. Tofua : Graeffe 
no. 337! — 
Das von Dr. Graeffe gesammelte Exemplar ist identisch mit 
den von Brackenridge auf den Yiti-Inseln gesammelten und im 
Ki'NZE’schen Herbarium von Mettenius als Cyathea propinqua Mett, 
bezeichneten Exemplaren von Cyathea affinis Brack, (non Sw.). 
Ob aber diese Art von der ihr so nahe stehenden Cyathea leu- 
colepis Mett, wirklich specifisch verschieden ist, ist mir sehr 
zweifelhaft; ich habe letztere nicht gesehen und daher bis jetzt 
