rocky with soil pockets 
rocky 
Lepturus + 
Portulaca 
slope with slope - 
soil pockets guano soils 
Lepturus Sesuvium ■*> 
Portulaca Lepturus 
guano soil, slight slope 
Sesuvium 4 
flat, guano 
On this end of the island there are two "shelves" - one behind the high 
rock beach and one at the edge of the lagoon. The first is bordered by 
a bare area on both sides and the second area on the inner side. 
At the south edge of the lagoon I placed &off^Camboo stakes, ten inches 
high* at the tip of the growing Sesuvium stems edging the side of the 
lagoon flat. These are approximately one foot apart along the irregular 
periphery. A straight line drawn between each succeeding stake will not 
( at placement) intersect any of the vegetative cover. Some idea of rate 
of growth of the Sesuvium mat may be ascertained from these. Twenty stakes 
were placed along the lagoon edge due east of the first area. 
Uliere the rocky shelf behind the high beach extends to the lagoon edge one 
finds brackish water seepage and good stands of Lepturus . On the drier 
platform above one finds the Bo^rhaavia-Lepturus association. At the edge 
of the lagoon under crusty layer one-half inch deep one finds a dark green 
but very thin algal layer. Below this is a dark brown muck soil with a 
high concentration of salts. Algal sample was taken. The Sida on the south 
end is found on the raised platform. The plant is procumbent - bent by the 
wind as a. seedling and with the sprouts on the upper outer side killed by 
the dry prevailing wind off of the high beach. 
Permanent marker III - At the edge of the Sida patch on the nw side of the 
island. The Sida here stands up to forty inches high and is somewhat pro¬ 
tected by the ruined walls of the old guano operation. Just adjacent are 
the Lepturus—Boerhaavia association — to the west. Nesting lesser frigates 
are common - some on slightly raised nests built in the Sida but most on 
the ground. The Lepturus has been heavily matted by the nesting frigates. 
The Boerhaavia is used as a nest material by the frigatebirds in the flat 
nesting areas - the long stems are rounded up to approximate the immediate 
nest area. Along the southeast side of the lagoon two areas were selected 
for the placement of bamboo stakes a/t the edge of the extending Sesuvium 
stems. This was on the south side of the most prominent extension of the 
Sesuvium mat into the central area. 
Permanent marker IV - Placed on the east side in a stand of pure Lepturus 
on the gravelly slope of the lagoon — on the inner side the Lepturus mixes 
with the Sesuvium to form a distinctive local association. On the outer 
side toward the beach is a rocky area with soil pockets - Portulaca and 
Boerhaavia are found here with scattered patches of Lepturus . Around the 
marker the Lepturus i s heavily matted — up to 38 inches high. The Sesuvium 
collected on the east side of the lagoon has pinkish or pale lavender 
flowers (sepals). Collected at 4*15 Th e Fortul ca sp. has five, six or 
seven petals (usually one smaller than others and obviously derived from 
a stamen| bright yellow, highly variable in petal size and notch at the apex 
— ranges from no notch to a good indentation with a raised point in the 
center} style branches five end six <m£*siamen number variation (flowers 
from separate plants) as follows: 26 ,28 j30,37*41*43*45*54* The Sesuvium 
with the pink to lavender flo ers seems~To be more common along the shore 
