The recorded flora of the raised phosphatic limestone island of Nauru in the equatorial Pacific Ocean consists of approximately 493 species. Only 59 are possibly indigenous, none of which are endemic. The balance is composed of ornamentals, weedy exotics, food plants, and a limited number of other useful cultigens. Twelve of the recorded species are either extinct or were never successfully established on Nauru.
This paper lists the vascular flora of the three atolls (Canton, Gardner, Hull) and five small islands (Birnie, Enderbury, McKean, Phoenix, Sydney) of the Phoenix Group,
located in the arid equatorial belt of the Central Pacific, based on extensive collections made in 1973 and 1975 and on previous records and collections. The flora includes 87
species in 36 families. Only 28 of the species (32%) are considered native. A further 60 species have been recorded in the literature, many of them deliberate introductions which
This paper describes the channels known as hoa which are characteristic of atoll land rims and of some islands on barrier reefs, where they often dissect previously more continuous reef-top sediment accumulations and conglomerate platforms. They are
Nukutipipi atoll (5 km2), of volcanic origin 16-17 million years old on the Pitcairn (hot spot) Hereheretue line, presents a land flora and fauna of low diversity but with a Pisonia forest and hundreds of resident red-tailed tropic birds. Nukutipipi suffered from the 1983 hurricanes : destruction of vegetation and motu as well as sand lagoon mollusc populations. The north and south rims present original geomorphological structures.