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122 A BOTANICAL TOUR AMONG THE SOUTH SEA ISLANDS.
methysticum, the plant of which the Kava is made, is cultivated extensively ;
but in this, and in many other islande where missionaries have taken up their
abode, the practice of drinking that beastly beverage has ceased much of late
years. The under-scrub of Vavau consists principally of an AruncUnaria, the
reed of which the houses and fences (decidedly the neatest and best I have seen
anywhere) ai'e made. A Fhaseohis, several species of Ipomoea, and a Kenney-
dia [?
—
Ed.] are to be seen trailing along and forming iinpenetrable masses over
hundreds of acres. Sometimes they find their way into the plantations of
Broussonettia (the plant of which " Tapa," or native cloth is made), and soon
destroy them. The graceful Cocoa-nut towers majestically above, and waves
its feathery fronds in the breeze, as if defying its enemies beneath. I found
the vegetation more varied, with few exceptions, near to the water's edge, where
Malvaccous, Rubiaceous, Araliaceous, and Leguminous plants seemed to be
more numerous than others. I was taken all round this very dehghtful
harbour in the French missionai'ies' boat, and was not only charmed with the
scenery and the perfume of Jasminum gracile^ occasionally resting itself upon
the shrubs on the banks that margined the shore, but also with the fish and
coral of all colours to be seen in its waters. The pretty Paritium tiliaceum,
with its heart-shaped leaves and large golden-yellow flowers, a Sernandln, a
Calophyllinn, an Uri/tlirina, and a Casuarma were among the vegetation that
clothed the banks. AnEchites and a white-flowering Sbyrt grow in such thick
masses as to hide from view their helpless supporters. Tacca pinnatifida, of
which the natives make arrowroot, was also plentiful. There were few Orchi-
daceous plants ; a JDendrollum might, perhaps, be discovered in the midst of a
bunch of Dry7iaria, upon a stump or in the fork of a tree, and occasionally a
Bletia and a Dluris would be seen in the long grass. Grrowing around their
habitations in the villages, the natives have many Fijian plants. Among the
more conspicuous of these were the Acalypha tricolor, a Euphorhiacea, some
Dracaenas and Crotons, and the beautiful Palm Prilcliardia Pacifica, whose
bright green umbrageous fronds (the same in form but fully twice the size of
Latania Bourionica or Corypha Australis) might be seen in sevei'al places
spreading gracefully over a native hut. Near to the chief's house (who, by
the way, called himself the "governor") I saw a small plantation of a very
fine species of Tobacco {Nicotiana), which is not indigenous to the island ;
some fine trees of Cedrela vehitina of the West Indies were gi'owing close by.
A variety of Mimosa sensitiva, and Qnamoclit coccinea (a well-known pretty
little annual climber from Sou^h America) were to be found in patches about
the villages ; the latter was plentiful in a small garden in front of the gover-
nor's house. The governor, David , a fine-looking fellow about six feet
two inches in height, is a son of old " King George," of Tongatabu, which is
another of the Friendly Islands, a day's sail from Vavau. He can speak
English very well, and I was- surprised to find him so intelligent. His house
is certainly worthy of inspcclion. It contains four rooms, is of simple but
neat construction, being built of weatherboards and reeds, thatched with
sugar-cane tops. In the principal room there was a handsome suite of furni-
ture, which I learned had been brought fi-om Sydney a few months previous