The Flotation of Fruits in Sea-Water.—I made a few experiments on the fruits of this region, the results of which I here append. The fruits were all ripe and not dried.
(1.) Fruits that float in sea-water.[435]
- Cocos nucifera
- Areca catechu (Betel-nut).
- Cycas circinalis.[436]
- Pandanus (three littoral species).
- Nipa fruticans.
- Barringtonia speciosa.
- Calophyllum inophyllum.
- Calophyllum sp. (katari).
- Ochrosia parviflora.
- Heritiera littoralis.
- Cerbera odollam.
- Harpullia cupanioides.
- Myristica sp. (ito-ito).
- Riedelia curviflora.?
- Thespesia populnea.
- Gomphandra sp. (ningilo).
[435] The following fruits and seeds, taken from my dried collection of plants, float in sea-water. I did not experiment on them in the green condition. . . . Pongamia glabra: Coix Lachryma: Scævola Kœnigii: Tournefortia argentea.
[436] Out of ten fruits experimented on, only one floated.
(2.) Fruits that sink in sea-water.
- Parinarium laurinum.[437]
- Licuala sp. (firo).
- Areca sp. (torulo).
- Areca sp. (momo).
- Caryota sp. (eala).
[437] This tree is widely distributed throughout the group, which may be due to the circumstance of its resin being generally employed in caulking canoes.
The weeds, rubbish-plants, and shrubs, commonly found in old clearings and in the waste-ground of the cultivated patches in Bougainville Straits.