The Solomon Islands and Their Natives

by H. B. Guppy

It is not to be surprised that this battle of the trees should be included in the mythical lore of some of the inhabitants of the Pacific islands. Dr. George Turner, in his recent work entitled “Samoa, a hundred years ago and long before,” gives the following legend of the banyan. . . . . . “A report reached Samoa that the trees of Fiji had fought with the Banian tree, and that it had beaten them all. On this the Tatangia (Acacia laurifolia) and another tree went off from Samoa in two canoes to right the Fijian champion. They reached Fiji, went on shore, and there stood the Banian tree. ‘Where is the tree,’ they inquired, ‘which has conquered all the trees?’ ‘I am the tree,’ said the Banian. Then said the Tatangia, ‘I have come to fight with you.’ ‘Very Good, let us fight,’ replied the Banian. They fought. A branch of the Banian tree fell, but the Tatangia sprung aside and escaped. Another fell—ditto, ditto—the Tatangia. Then the trunk fell. The Tatangia again darted aside and escaped unhurt. On this the Banian tree ‘buried its eyes in the earth’ and owned itself conquered.”

An ascent to the summit of the Faro Island. . . . In making an ascent to the higher districts of this island, which attains an elevation of about 1900 feet above the sea, a little may be learned perhaps of the vertical distribution of the coast flora in this portion of the Solomon Group. The cycad (Cycas circinalis) grows most frequently just within the trees that immediately line the beach and may be often observed at all heights up to 400 feet above the sea, but it is not usually found at greater elevations.[426] The following large trees commonly occur on the hill-slopes up to an elevation of a thousand feet, the “fasala” (Vitex), the “toa” (Elæocarpus), the “opi-opi,” the “ka-i” (Canarium), the “katari” (Calophyllum), and others; whilst the palms such as the fan-palm (Licuala), the Caryota (“eala”), the “kisu” (Pinanga) and the arecas, fill up the intermediate ground, the fan-palm growing in great numbers and often monopolising the slope.[427] The smaller trees, of a height usually of sixty or seventy feet, which are more frequently observed during the lower half of the ascent, are, a species of Cerbera (“anumi”), the “kunuka” (Gnetum), the “palinoromus” (Couthovia), the “poporoko,” and others; whilst on the hill-slopes below the elevation of 500 feet the small conifer Gnetum Gnemon (“meriwa”) may be commonly seen. In three different localities, at elevations of between 1,000 and 1,100 feet above the sea, I came upon brakes of fine bamboos (Schizostachyum?) 35 to 40 feet in length which are employed as fishing-poles by the natives. This bamboo, both in Treasury and Faro Islands, does not appear to occur below this height; whilst in the Shortland Islands, although found at a lower elevation, it selects the higher regions of the island.

[426] At Treasury Island I found a solitary cycad at a height of a thousand feet above the sea. As it was in the vicinity of a plantation of sago palms, it is probable that it had been planted by the natives who employ the fruits for medicinal purposes.

[427] This fan-palm, the “firo” of the natives, was in 1884 only represented in Treasury by a single individual which had been brought a few years before from Bougainville, where the leaves are employed in making a conical hat that is commonly worn.

Above a thousand feet, many of the trees and palms so frequent below become less common or disappear. The fan-palm (Licuala) which grows in such numbers in the lower levels did not come under my notice above this elevation. On account of the absence of large trees near the summit, the lesser vegetation receives more of the sun’s rays; and thus at 1,600 feet above the sea the alpinias, such as the “vitoko” and the “kokuru” re-appear, plants which usually abound in the lower levels in all open situations, as on the banks of streams. For the same reason, we find near the summit of the island at elevations of 1,600 to 1,700 feet the tall composite shrub, Wedelia biflora, which is one of the commonest of the plants that grow at the margin of the beach. On account of this absence of large trees, and the consequent increased exposure to the sun’s rays, the smaller trees with conspicuous flowers find a congenial situation at this elevation: here are found the species of Dolicholobium (“lowasi”), which is common on the banks of the streams in the lower levels, the Fagræa Berteriana (“bubulata”) which grows also at the coast, a wild nut-meg tree (Myristica), a species of Harpullia (“wawaupoko”), the “pakuri” (Eugenia), the “baimoloi” and others. In these higher regions tree-ferns grow to a height of thirty feet; and here the areca-palms, “momo” and “niga-torulo,” are also found. Here flourishes the Gleichenia, a fern which does not usually grow at elevations under 700 feet above the sea, and which is represented by two common species: it is the “sinimi” of the natives who, as I have already remarked, work the fine strips of its vascular tissue into armlets which they commonly wear. Near the summit and all down the slopes is found a species of Begonia, a genus, as I am informed by Baron von Mueller, not before recorded from islands east of New Guinea.[428] A dense growth of the trailing stems of a Freycinetia and of ferns clothes the rocky sides of the highest peak, which is almost bare of trees. Here however I found a new genus of the Pandanaceæ, which, like some other pandanus trees, is known to the natives as “sararang.” It grows to a height of fifty feet, and was only observed by me on the highest peak of the island and for two or three hundred feet below. It has a very conspicuous white “branching female spadix,” three to four feet in length; and I learn from Professor Oliver that the same or a near ally of it, though not in a condition to describe, was collected by Signor Beccari in Jobi Island off the north-west coast of New Guinea.

[428] A species of Ophiorrhiza is in Treasury Island usually associated with this Begonia and is found at all elevations.

The coast vegetation of the larger islands. . . . It is in the coasts of such an island as Treasury or Faro Island, where the strictly littoral and more inland plants become intermingled, that the Solomon Island vegetation in some degree redeems its character. Here the prevailing sombreness and inconspicuous inflorescences give place to bright hues and to a variety of flowers. Here are seen the handsome white flowers of a rubiaceous tree, a species of Bikkia; the yellowish flowers and bright red fruits of Harpullia capanioides (“koloa”); the crimson flowers of an Erythrina (perhaps indica); the yellow flowers of Cæsalpinia Nuga; the large pods of Pongamia glabra; and the fruits of a wild nutmeg (Myristica, sp.). Hernandia peltata and Clerodendron inerme may also be here found. The conspicuous flowers of Hibiscus tiliaceus, Thespesia populnea, and of other littoral trees such as Cerbera Odollam and Guettarda speciosa, add their brightness to the scene. Amongst the foliage of the trees twine a species of Ipomœa with handsome white flowers, and here are seen the wax-like flowers of more than one species of asclepiad (Hoya, sp). Orchids, some of striking beauty, hang from the trunks of the trees and form a conspicuous feature in the scene. Among them occur species of Dendrobium, Coelogyne, Cleisostoma, etc.

The littoral vegetation, as exhibited in a coral islet. . . . I will take the case of one of the many wooded islets that have been formed on the coral reefs by the action of the waves. On the weather side of such an islet, which may be termed its growing edge, the vegetation is scanty, and there are but few trees. A binding weed and more than one species of Ipomœa loosely cover a surface composed almost entirely of calcareous sand, broken shells, coral debris, and pumice pebbles; and it is on such an unproductive soil that two or more species of Pandanus and Casuarina angustifolia flourish. Here at the margin of the beach may be seen in profusion the tall composite shrub, Wedelia biflora, and another common shrub, Scævola Kœnigii. Two climbing peas prefer the sandy soil in this situation, one with yellow flowers, Vigna lutea, and the other with pink flowers, Canavalia turgida; whilst a dense growth of Flagellaria indica often conceals from view any rocky slope overlooking the beach. Just within the line of vegetation immediately bordering the beach, the following trees commonly occur, Ochrosia parviflora (“pokosola”), Heritiera littoralis (“pipilusu”), Terminalia catappa (“saori”), Cycas circinalis, and one or more species of Pandanus. Here also a species of Crinum (the “papau” of the natives) and the Tacca pinnatifida (“mamago”) may be usually found. (I hoped to have referred to the ferns of such a coral islet; but my endeavours to obtain any information of my collection have been unavailing).

On the lee side of such an islet, which is the oldest portion of its surface, the vegetation is much denser and of a different character. Here, the trees form a thick belt, their branches overhanging the rising tide. Those of most frequent occurrence are, Barringtonia speciosa, Calophyllum inophyllum, Hibiscus tiliaceus, Thespesia populnea, Guettarda speciosa, Morinda citrifolia, Cerbera Odollam, Pongamia glabra, Tournefortia argentea, and others. The trunks of the larger trees often lean over the beach or lie partly procumbent on the sand. Amongst the foliage of these coast trees, many of which have large conspicuous flowers, climbing asclepiads of the genus Hoya with their equally conspicuous flowers may be frequently observed. Orchids, often of considerable beauty, hang from the reclining trunks of the trees. Here, as in the case of the coasts of the large islands, we perceive how pleasant is the contrast which the littoral vegetation presents when compared with the gloomy and apparently flowerless forests, where the tallest trees possess but an inconspicuous greenish inflorescence.

In the interior of such a coral islet, huge banyans and other trees having wide-spreading buttresses are to be found. Many of them attain a height of 150 feet and upwards, and afford a home to numbers of fruit-eating pigeons which largely subsist on their fruits, and through whose agency the interiors of coral islets are stocked with these large trees. Conspicuous amongst the trees is a species of Canarium (the “ka-i” of the natives), the disgorged nuts of which frequently strew the ground beneath; a banyan (Ficus) with large oblong fruits and another species with small spherical fruits; other ficoid trees with large buttresses, such as the “uri”; a species of Eugenia, probably a variety of Eugenia jambos; together with several other trees.