106 
PACIFIC SCIENCE, Vol. II, April, 1948 
Trukese is next in affinity, there being 22 
plants with names in common. But, it is seen 
that only 6 are certainly indigenous, that only 4 
(or 18 per cent) have precisely identical names, 
and that among the list of altered names about 
22 per cent are much modified. 
The Marshall Islands have little claim to a 
close relationship, as the number of related 
plant names is small, only 13. Of these, only 3 
are indigenous plants, and 70 per cent of the 
names are altered. Of these, 23 per cent are 
much modified. 
In Kusaie, of the plants in common, 33.3 per 
cent have identical names, but the grand total 
is only 12 species and varieties. Eight of the 
names are much modified. The total of 12 spe¬ 
cies and varieties is so small that the high per¬ 
centage of identities, based on only three species, 
is not significant. 
All in all, comparisons of these Pingelap 
plant name? indicate that the vocabulary of 
Pingelap, at least in these names for common 
objects, shows some affinities to that of Ponape. 
With the other surrounding islands—Truk, 
Kusaie, and the Marshalls—the words in com¬ 
mon are few and the affinities slight. 
CATALOGUE OF THE FLORA OF PINGELAP 
The specimens were all collected by H. St. 
John on December 27, 1945. The vernacular 
Pingelap name is given in quotation marks, 
followed by the author’s collection number for 
the species. The names of indigenous species are 
printed in bold roman type, while those of ad- 
ventives and cultivated plants are in bold italics. 
POLYPODIACEAE 
1. Asplenium nidus L. 
"Seilik,” 21,477. Occasional, epiphyte on 
moist tree trunks. 
2. Nephrolepis biserrata (Sw.) Schott 
"Pues,” 21,484. On ground or tree trunks, 
in moist forest. 
3. Polypodium Phymatodes L. 
"Kitiu,” 21,479. Common on ground or 
trees. 
4. Vittaria elongata Sw. 
'Tit,” 21,466. On mossy bases of coconut 
trunks, in moist woods. A common fern of 
the tropical Pacific, occurring from Africa, 
India, Burma, Malaya, and on the high 
islands from Sumatra and the Philippines 
through Malaysia and Australia, and Poly¬ 
nesia to the Marquesas. Apparently this col¬ 
lection is the first to be reported for the 
species on an atoll or a low coral island. No 
such record was known to Wagner (1945: 
74-76), though on page 76 he reported it 
on Guam, with five other fern species on a 
coconut trunk "in a shady bushy location on 
the wooded side of a limestone hill.” 
PANDANACEAE 
5. Pandanus sp. 
"Kipai.” One kind was collected, but unfor¬ 
tunately it was lost on the airplane trip back 
to Honolulu. Pandanus trees of good size 
were common both on the beaches and in 
the interior. They are important to the in¬ 
habitants, furnishing edible fruit, timber 
from the trunks, and thatch from the leaves. 
My native informant, Soas, could not re¬ 
member all, but furnished the names of the 
following species or kinds: 
(1) "Asibuirek” 
(2) "Nanagaisal” 
(3) "Sonumei” 
(4) "Nanagasak” 
(5) "Aisesewil” 
(6) "Maukosokosok” 
(7) "Muisamuis” 
(8) "Esies” 
(9) "Suioibueibuei” 
(10) "Arawa-an,” or "Arawan” 
(11) "Muisigel” 
(12) "Meikilikil” 
(13) "Luaramuk” 
(14) "Tobodin” 
