A  description  is  given  in  Chapter  XXXII  of  the  enormous
amount  of  vegetable  drift  brought  down  by  the  Guayaquil  River  to
the  coast  of  Ecuador.  Besides  the  huge  tree- trunks  and  the
floating  Pistias,  we  observe  large  islets  formed  mainly  of  Ponte-
derias  and  Polygonum,  together  with  a  host  of  seeds  and  seed-
vessels,  both  large  and  small,  including  those  of  Anona  paludosa,
Entada  scandens,  Erythrina,  Hibiscus  tiliaceus,  Ipomea,  Mucuna,
Vigna,  &c.,  accompanied  by  the  empty  seeds  of  Phytelephas
macrocarpa  and  of  many  other  strange  plants  from  the  slopes  of
the  Chimborazo  mountains.  In  addition,  we  notice  the  seedlings
of  Avicennia  and  of  Rhizophora  mangle  together  with  the  seeded
joints  of  Salicomia  peruviana  and  the  germinating  fruits  of
Laguncularia.
When  in  Fiji  I  made  an  especial  study  of  the  drift  of  the  Rewa
Estuary  within  tidal  influence,  the  results  of  which  are  incorporated
in  various  parts  of  this  work.  In  the  rainy  season,  when  the  drift
is  most  abundant,  the  following  would  be  its  most  characteristic
components :

Seedlings  of  Bruguiera  and  Rhizophora.
Fruits  of  Barringtonia  racemosa  and  B.  speciosa,  the  first-named
most  abundant  and  often  germinating.
Seeds  of  Carapa  obovata,   most  of   them    far   advanced    in
germination.
Fruits  of  Lumnitzera  coccinea.
Fruits  of  Cerbera  odoUam,  abundant.
Fruits  of  Inocarpus  edulis,  with  the  seed  generally  rotten.
Fruits    of    Heritiera     littoralis,     Parinarium     laurinum,    and
Pandanus.
Empty  seeds  of  Aleurites  moluccana.
Fruits  of  Scirpodendron  costatum,  abundant.
Fruits  of  Clerodendron   inerme  and   Smythea   pacifica,  both
of  them  in  some  cases  germinating.
Pyrenes  of  Morinda  citrifolia.
Small  fruits  of  Vitex  trifolia  and  Premna  taitensis,  both  some-
times abundant.
Seeds  of  Entada  scandens,  Mucuna,  and  Vigna  lutea.
Pods  of  Dalbergia  monosperma  and  Derris  uliginosa,  the  last
sometimes  in  a  germinating  condition.
