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It is a moot point, anyway, since there are no sandy beaches within the park boundaries (although there are small deposits of coral sand on some of the coral rubble beaches). The herbaceous strand is limited seaward by the hightide mark, and inland by the edge of the littoral shrubland or littoral forest. In the park it is most frequently encountered in a narrow zone on windswept headlands (Fig. 12). The most characteristic species in these places are grasses such as Lepturus repens and lschaemum murinum, sedges such as Fimhrislylis cymosa and Mariscus javanicus (sele- sele), the vine lpomoea pes-caprae (beach morning- glory, fue moa), and the fern Acrostichum aureum (swamp fern, sa'ato). In protected areas on steep cliffs, ferns such as Phymatosorus scolopendria (lau magamaga) and Asplenium nidus (bird's-nest fern, laugapapa) and the vine Hoya australis (wax flower, fue selela) may dominate. Another herbaceous species occurring here, Hedyotis biflora, belongs to the same genus as Hedyotis foetida, a species that is common in similar habitats on Ta'u but absent from Tutuila. Another type of rocky substrate vegetation that might be classified as herbaceous strand is the rocky point (Polauta Ridge and Pola Islet) north of Vatia, where a number of herbaceous species cling to the scantily clad cliffs. One of them, Boerhavia ,qluhrc~lu, is a new record for American Samoa (it was collected twice in Western Samoa, but is irregularly distributed elsewhere in the Pacific). It has small sticky fruits that adhere to bird feathers, which accounts for its presence around this area whcre numerous seabirds nest. Other species may occur on Pola Islet, but its sheer sides and the surrounding waves make exploration unfeasible at this level of study. The vegetation there will be discussed in more detail under littoral shrubland. Coral rubble beaches are found in several places within the park. In bays where coral rubble typically accumulates, the waves pile up the rubble at a steep angle. At the top of the slope there is a plateau where the flat ground surface extends into the forest. The best examples of this are Amalau Bay (see Fig. 8) and the southern end of Tuafanua beach (see Fig. 10). However, both of these are disturbed. Amalau is near habitations, and the presence of coconuts and disturbed vegetation inland of the beach attests to human activities. Tuafanua was apparently hard hit by hurricanes, as evidenced by the number of fallen trees found there. In the flat zone at the top of the slope where patches of sand may also be present, prostrate creeping vines typically comprise the dominant lifeform. The most common of these species are Ipomoea pes-caprae and Vigna marina (beach pea, fue sina). Less common are Canavalia rosea (fue fai va'a) Ipomoea macrantha, Operculina ventri- cosa, and Stictocardia tiliifolia. The latter two species are not typically littoral; they are more often found inland as weeds. All of these vines are native species, except Stictocardia and Operculina. Two other native species are sometimes found here, Zehneria mucronata and Zehneria samoensis, but they are more typically found a short distance inland under the shade of the littoral forest. Lifeforms other than littoral vines occur on coral rubble beaches. The most typical non-vine species are the grasses Thuarea involuta, Paspalum vaginatum, and Lepturus repens, and the sedge Fimbristylis cymosa. In more hospitable areas, inland weeds such as Mikania micrantha (mile-a -minute vine, fue saina) may also occur. In some places the Barringtonia trees that form the littoral forest may grow over the edge of the ocean creating a shade that precludes herbaceous strand from becoming established. Talus slopes are found in two places in the park -on either side of Pola Point. The eastern portion of this is Vatia beach, which is accessible. The other, Tuafanua, is reached from Vatia by a trek over a low saddle (70 m elevation) and a steep ascent through lowland forest. Tuafanua beach, about 1 km in length, is limited southward by a rocky headland and disappears northward at the base of the steep cliffs that form Pola Point. Talus dominates the northern end of this beach, below the cliffs. The talus itself is mostly barren, and the littoral vegetation begins mostly inland where there is an accumulation of coral rubble. This may be due to the inability of plants to find a suitable foothold between the irregular rocks and boulders, or possi- bly the recent hurricanes scraped clean this lower portion of the beach.
Figure 12. Littoral shrubland vegetation on windswept Sauma Point. Figure 13. Littoral shrubland vegetation on Polauta Ridge. 15
Page 1 and 2: COOPERATIVE NATIONAL PARK RESOURCES
Page 3 and 4: TABLE OF CONTENTS I . INTRODUCTION
Page 5 and 6: LEGEND B \ PROPOSED PARK AREA OFU I
Page 7 and 8: Figure 3 VEGETATION TYPE MAP Tutuil
Page 9 and 10: Figure 4. Pago Pago Bay, with Mt. M
Page 11 and 12: 'IJpolu, and 'Ta'u as well). The on
Page 13 and 14: nu pucijicuJ; an Eurya? [Eurya pick
Page 15 and 16: category recognized in the report o
Page 17: Figure 10. Tuafanua Beach west of V
Page 21 and 22: Figure 14. Littoral shrubland veget
Page 23 and 24: Figure 16. Littoral forest north of
Page 25 and 26: Soils differ in origin and age of t
Page 27 and 28: example on Tutuila is the climbing
Page 29 and 30: When undisturbed, the floor of the
Page 31 and 32: incrme (aloalo tai) may also be com
Page 34 and 35: coastal ridges, decreases in import
Page 36 and 37: Scvcral other trees are characteris
Page 38 and 39: poIvon/l~os, Dtrvulliu solidu (whic
Page 40 and 41: Although Mauga-o-Tula lacks some of
Page 42 and 43: introduced weeds, many of the Polyn
Page 44 and 45: even mature secondary forest, it le
Page 46 and 47: there). No increased access should
Page 48 and 49: Whistler, W. A. 1976. Wetlands of A
Page 50 and 51: Acrostichum aureum L. [swamp fern]
Page 52 and 53: Uncommon in montane to cloud forest
Page 54 and 55: 171 ; Setchell 393; Christophersen
Page 56 and 57: of the costa. Uncommon in montane t
Page 58 and 59: liom China to I'itcairn Island. USE
Page 60 and 61: lamina deeply cut into 1-10 lobes,
Page 62 and 63: Antrophyum alatum Bracken. VITTARIA
Page 64 and 65: weed in villages and along roadside
Page 66 and 67: 650 111 clevi~tion. A modern introd
Page 68 and 69:
Vernonia cinerea (L.) Less. [ironwe
Page 70 and 71:
Uncomnion in secondary forest, prob
Page 72 and 73:
from near sea level to 400 m elevat
Page 74 and 75:
*Charnaesyce prostrata (Ait.) Small
Page 76 and 77:
elevation. A modern introduction, n
Page 78 and 79:
Macroptilium lathyroides (L.) Urb.
Page 80 and 81:
Cyrtandra samoensis A. Gray momolea
Page 82 and 83:
'Thespesia populnea (L.) Sol. ex Co
Page 84 and 85:
Ficus prolixa Forst. f. [banyan] ao
Page 86 and 87:
found in Tonga, Futuna, and Fiji. S
Page 88 and 89:
Peperomia pellucida (L,.) Kunth POL
Page 90 and 91:
*Gardenia taitensis DC. "Hedyotis c
Page 92 and 93:
elevation. This species should be t
Page 94 and 95:
"Physalis angulata L. 1 wild cape g
Page 96 and 97:
*Etatosterna scabriusculum Setchell
Page 98 and 99:
Epipremnum pinnaturn (L.) Engl. Ili
Page 100 and 101:
Mariscus secmannianus (Boeck.) Pall
Page 102 and 103:
*Bulbophyllurn samoanum Schlechter
Page 104 and 105:
Malaxis resupinata (Forst. f.) Kunt
Page 106 and 107:
F. homhronii Mart.; it differs from
Page 108 and 109:
this in D. ciliaris, but the two ha
Page 110 and 111:
Paspalurn orbiculare Forst. f. Mcdi
Page 112 and 113:
APPENDIX B: PLOT DATA (Basal area i
Page 114 and 115:
PLOT 4: MULIULU LOWLAND RIDGE FORES
Page 116 and 117:
PLOT 6: TIATAUALA LOWLAND RIDGE FOR
Page 118 and 119:
PLOT 8: OLO LOWLAND RIDGE FOREST (2
Page 120 and 121:
PLOT 10: AMALAU LOWLAND VALLEY FORE
Page 122 and 123:
PLOT 12: ALAVA MONTANE FOREST* (400
Page 124 and 125:
APPENDIX C: SEASONALITY OF IMPORTAN
Page 126 and 127:
MORACEAE Ikus godcfl'royi 1;icus ob
Page 128 and 129:
SPECIES FAMILY FLOWERING DATES FRUI
Page 130 and 131:
2. Littoral Shrubland Two types of
Page 132 and 133:
the relatively undisturbed places,
Page 134 and 135:
harvcyana (laupata), Morinda citrif
Page 136 and 137:
APPENDIX F. SUMMARY OF THE VASCULAR
Page 138 and 139:
VIlTAKIACEAE Amrophyurn alaturn Ant
Page 140 and 141:
Species FAMILY Status* E I P M ....
Page 142 and 143:
MYRSINACEAE Embelia vaupelii Maesa
Page 144 and 145:
Species FAMILY Status* E I P M VEKB
Page 146:
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