Chapter I Intro & Objectives - SPREP

PHOENIX ISLANDS PROTECTED AREA MANAGEMENT PLAN
Chapter III. Background, 3. Terrestrial Resources
Draft 1 March 2007
5) prostrate herb, Triumfetta procumbens,
6) bunchgrass, Digitaria pacifica,
7) grass, Eragrostis whitneyi var. typica,
8) seaside purslane, Sesuvium portulacastrum,
9) wiry shrub, Suriana maritima,
10) parasitic laurel-dodder, Cassytha filiformis,
11) morning glory, Ipomoea grandiflora and
12) morning glory, I. pes-caprae,
13) goodenia shrub, Scaevola frutescens,
14) tree heliotrope, Messerchmidia argentea,
15) kou tree, Cordia subcordata, and
16) non, Morinda citrifolia.
Bryan (1940b) listed 17 native species including the coconut (see also Murphy et al 1954).
However, the list provided by Murphy et al (1954) for Bryan (1940b) was not exactly the
same as that provided in Bryan (1940b).
In 1940, the Taney brought several hundred plants and trees to Abariringa (Canton) (Bryan
1974). In 1941, 658 plants wee provided to Abariringa (Canton).
Bryan (1941) reported 10 grown coconut trees, in addition to Scaevola shrubs, Suriana
shrubs, and small clumps of heliotrope and kou trees (see also Bryan 1942).
Abariringa (Canton) almost bare of vegetation except for a few scattered palm trees, kou
brush, and bunch grass (Hydrographic Office 1940). There was one lone palm tree on the
northwest point and one large kou brush on the southwest point.
Between December 1940 and February 1941, strong westerly winds on Abariringa (Canton)
(up to 55 knots) brought drift seeds to Abariringa (Canton) (Van Zwaluwenburg 1942).
Seeds were from the following plants:
1) Myrstica sp.,
2) Entada scandens,
3) Inocarpus edulis,
4) Mucuna spp.,
5) Caesalpinia crista,
6) Canarium sp.,
7) Barringonia speciosa,
8) Terminalia catappa,
9) Crebera odollam,
10) Unidentified spp.
11) Cocos nucifera,
12) Aleurites moluccana,
13) Pandanus sp.
Native flora of Abariringa (Canton) was identified by E.L. Caum and reported by Van
Zwaluwenburg (1941). They were as follows:
1) Digitaria pacifica,
2) Eragrostis whitneyi var. typical,
3) Lepturus repens,
4) Cocos nucifera,
5) Boerhaavia diffusa,
6) Sesuvium portulacastrum,
7) Portulaca lutea,
8) Cassytha filiformis,
9) Tribulus cistoides,
10) Suriana maritima,
11) Triumfetta procumbens,
12) Sida fallax,
13) Ipomoea pes-caprae,
14) Ipomoca grandiflora,
15) Cordia subcordata,
16) Tournefortia argentea,
17) Morinda citrifolia, and
18) Scaevola frustescens.
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