C.R. Long 
1964 
Enderbuiy Island 
July 15, 1964 - A landing was made about 1:30 pm. Camp was set up 
in shed and shack. I walked the west shore of the island - very rocky 
and the vegetation is not as lush as at Phoenix - at least on this 
southwest end. Tropic birds observed nesting under slanting stone slabs. 
rocky with patches of sand and gravel sand 
* Transect I Digitaria ^ Portulaca Sida v Sida _> 
Triumfetta Triumfetta > Portulaca Portulaca 
Digitaria Boerhaavia Boerhaavia 
Digitaria 
sand and gravel _ slope ___ darker soil 
BoerhaaviaDigitariaLepturus Boerhaavia Sida ^T 
Portulaca Lepturus > Boerhaavi a Portulaca -^Lepturus 
Lepturus Portulaca Triumfetta Sesuvium 
Boerhaavia Portulaca 
Se suvium 
Se suvium 
Eragrostis 
edge of lagoon " raised islet 
salt crust guano soil with much shell material 
Observed 
Boerhaavia sp. with white flowers and little or no anthocyanin in the exposed 
stems. Messerschmidtia argentea (L.f.) Johnston comprises the brush area as 
on the chart. This shrub sprouts on the bottom branches and has flowers, the 
,‘ner parts appear dead possibly as a result of the high concentration of 
nesting lesser frigatebirds (guano concentration on live stems and leaves, and 
physical damage as a result of nest building and other avain activities) and/or 
the high insolation and continuous drying wind. Red footed boobies are also 
found nesting in this "brush". 
On the east side of the lagoon - along the edge - were observed several dead 
patches of Se suvium sp. indicating perhaps an earlier high water in the lagoon. 
Evaporation must be rapid but not always so rapid as to insure that even Sesuvium 
(which has been observed living submerged in salty water) will not be killed back. 
Se suvium forms an uneven cover over guano or gravel surfaces associated with 
Lepturus, Portulaca and Sida - at the periphery of the lagoon, on raised dry 
heads covered with guano and in the areas just above or in back of the lagoon 
edge. On this island the Se suvium forms no solid mat (uninterrupted). Counted 
twenty-four golden plovers. 
July l6, 1964 - Plant presses taken out to ship. Dry plants taken from the 
presses. Drying conditions in the engine room are not ideal. The humidity is 
too high. The best action is to take smaller samples and segregate the succulent 
material. On next trip will either have a portable drier or saturate the material 
with paraformaldehyde solution and defer drying until we reach Honolulu. This 
latter method might also make for a more organized procedure on shipboard - avoiding 
the mess.and heat of the engine roam. 
Into the field at 3:30 pm walking north toward the lagoon and then on to, 
the north end of the island - mapping vegetation and placing permanent markers 
(steel poles). North of the old guano ruins a large colony of nesting Greater 
Frigates - in dead or weakly sprouting Messerschmidtia (some Cordia sp. also 
present). At the edges of the colony some of the birds make their nest on 
