which is now found commonly around the island and on the interior. The 
spread of this spiny-fruited herb probably was greatly facilitated by 
the building of reads and other installations at the time of the bomb 
testing. No pure stands of Boerhavia were observed scattered plants in 
beach sand excepted. No areas were observed where Boerhavia was crowding 
and killing other species. 
The vegetation of Cooks Island remains the same except for the ab¬ 
sence of Hedyotis (the Kadua of Christophersen’s paper). Christophersen 
mentions Pisonia on the north side but there are no extant collections 
from this locale. All later collections are from Motu Tabu or the planted 
tree near the wells. 
At the present large portions of the land area of Christmas Island 
is covered with a Cocos forest planted by man. Large areas of the natural 
vegetation are being removed for the enlargement of these plantations. 
Due to the nature of the soil and water availability much of the land area 
will not support Cocos at present. The continued use of the island by 
man promises to significantly alter the natural ecosystems. 
Among the introduced plants of the village the Erythrina trees 
mentioned by Rougier (1914) are still alive. Common around the village 
are Hibiscus rosa - sinensis and H. schizopetalus , Lycopersicon esculentum 
and Carica papaya although these latter do not seem to thrive. Mr. Cook 
showed me a small pit along the north road which was fenced with metal 
roofing and about 1 m. deep. In tin containers the native Gilbertese 
were growing Crytosperma chamissioniana . The plants were not vigorous 
and many were lost to the ravages of the land crabs which are numberous. 
The taro is grown for the Gilbertese women who prefer this diet during 
pregnancy. Growing nearby was a small shrub of Ficus tinctoria about 
2 m. high which was cultivated for its fruits. Later it was also seen 
growing near some houses in the village. 
