Chapter 3.7 Wild plants of primary lowland tropical rain forest

Malcolm Ross

1. Introduction⇫

This chapter focuses principally on the lowland tropical rain forests of New Britain and New Ireland, the large islands of the Bismarck Archipelago, as these are the forests whose margins - at the very least - would have been familiar to Proto Oceanic (POc) speakers. It would be appropriate also to include the rain forests of the Admiralties, but little is known about them (World Wildlife Fund 2007a). Some attention is also given to the other islands of NW Island Melanesia, namely Bougainville and the Solomons, as they were occupied by speakers of early Oceanic dialects which were perhaps barely distinct from POc.

Also included here are trees which grow in freshwater swamp forest, a habitat that is not common in the Bismarcks, though more widespread in Bougainville and parts of the Solomons (ch.2, §3.1.3). Excluded are (i) plants that mainly occur in littoral forest (see chapter 5) and (ii) plants that occur in the wild but are also tended or cultivated to some degree (see chapters 9-11 and 13).

In POc times, the Bismarcks would have been almost completely covered in rain forest, and much of their area remained so until 30 years ago, although there were of course substantial portions of secondary forest resulting from the agricultural activities of Oceanic speakers over 3000 years (ch.2, §3.2).¹

Although New Britain and New Ireland have two distinct soil types, one limestone-based, the other volcanic, there is surprisingly little difference in their species composition. Major lowland rain forest tree genera include Pometia, Octomeles, Alstonia, Campnosperma, Canarium, Dracontomelon, Pterocymbium, Crytocarya, Intsia, Ficus, Terminalia and Vitex.

Compared with mainland New Guinea the overall diversity of tree species in Bismarcks lowland forests is not impressive. Missing are the two conifers Araucaria hunsteinii and Araucaria cunninghamii that tower above the lowland broadleaf forests in New Guinea. The dipterocarps (Dipterocarpaceae) that dominate much of peninsular and island southeast Asia are represented by only three species in New Guinea, and probably not at all in the Bismarcks (World Wildlife Fund 2007b).

Freshwater swamp forests on New Britain and New Ireland include Campnosperma brevipetiolata (§4.1), Terminalia brassii, the sago palm (Metroxylon sagu), and species of Pandanus. Limestone forests near the coast of southern New Ireland and along the coast and interior of New Britain are dominated by Vitex cofassus (World Wildlife Fund 2007b).

2. Rain forest layers⇫

A rain forest typically has four or five layers (opinions differ on the division of the lower layers), and these provided the basis for the organisation of this chapter.²

The tallest trees, spaced well apart, jut out above the forest canopy with umbrella-shaped crowns at heights of over 50 m. These emergent trees, treated in §3, have straight, smooth trunks with few branches. They need to be able to withstand high temperatures and drying winds and tend to have small, pointed leaves. Some species lose their leaves during the brief dry season in monsoon rainforests.

The canopy (§4) contains a majority of the larger trees, typically 30–50 m tall, and its adjacent treetops provide a more or less continuous cover of broad-leaved evergreen foliage. The branches of the upper portion of the canopy often support a rich flora of epiphytes, including orchids, mosses, and lichens. The canopy receives plenty of sunlight, but allows only a small amount to penetrate to the layers below. The leaves are formed in such a way as to allow rain to run off. This keeps them dry and prevents mold and mildew from forming in the humid environment. Many canopy tree species have large buttresses at the base of the trunk. Formerly believed to help support the tree, it is now believed that the buttresses channel dissolved nutrients to the shallow root system.

The understorey has two parts: a lower canopy (§5) consisting of trees around 20m in height and a shrub layer (§6) of small trees, shrubs, herbs and ferns able to survive on the 5% of sunlight which reaches the understorey. Understorey plants tend to have large leaves in order to catch as much as possible of the sparsely dappled sunlight: they are largely protected from winds which would damage large leaves in the canopy. Some trees have larger leaves when they are shorter but smaller leaves when they reach canopy height. Large woody vines climb the trees to capture sunlight. There is little air movement and constantly high humidity in the understorey.

The forest floor (§7) receives only 2% of the rainforest’s sunlight, and only specially adapted plants can grow under these conditions. Away from river banks, swamps and clearings, where dense undergrowth is found, the forest floor is relatively empty of vegetation. It also contains decaying plant and animal matter, which decays rapidly in the warmth and humidity to be absorbed by the trees’ shallow roots. Many forms of fungi grow here, assisting in the decay.

3. Emergent trees⇫

Emergent trees are those which regularly grow to 50 m or more. There are also a number of canopy trees that grow taller and acquire emergent status in some localities. These are noted in the various subsections of §4.

3.1. Alstonia scholaris, milky pine, canoe tree, TP kanu (Apocynaceae)⇫

Alstonia scholaris is an emergent or tall canopy tree, growing straight to a height of 30–50 m or more, with few branches on its trunk. It grows only in the forest, often near rivers (Hviding 2005: 146). It is a salient tree in the Bismarcks and the Solomons, but it is rare in Remote Oceania, probably because its use there in constructing large canoes has put the survival of at least taller specimens under pressure (W. McClatchey, pers. comm.).

The straight trunk with its lightweight wood is used in many locations for making canoes, for beams, for shark-trap and fishing-net floats and for carving (Powell 1976, Peekel 1984: 441, Hviding 2005: 146). At Teop (north Bougainville), the tree is known simply as sinivi ‘canoe’ (Record 1945). Wood from buttresses was used for the tall prows of Marovo war canoes.

On New Britain the latex is said to relieve colds (Floyd 1954). At Marovo the sap or bark scrapings boiled in water is a medicine for stomach ache.

At Marovo too, the dead were commonly buried in a sitting position between the buttresses of Alstonia scholaris, and so it was associated with the departure of the spirits of the dead, resulting in taboos against felling it.

A PMP form for ‘Alstonia scholaris’, namely *ditah, is reconstructable (ACD), but I have found no Oceanic reflexes of this. Despite their apparent variation, the reflexes of POc *sabakap below are largely regular. Kara, Patpatar and Nehan reflect regular loss of *-k- but retain the final consonant. NNG languages, Nakanai and SES languages lose the final consonant. The Choiseul languages Varisi, Avaso, Ririo, Babatana and Sisingga reflect Proto Northwest Solomonic *baɣava (for †*abaɣava) in which initial *s- is lost through lenition (a sporadic process) and the final consonant is retained with the addition of an echo vowel.

POc		*sabakap	‘Alstonia scholaris’ (Chowning 2001: 84)
NNG	Longeinga	samvaga	‘Alstonia scholaris’ (Panoff 1972)
NNG	Kairiru	sabok	‘Alstonia scholaris’
MM	Nakanai	sabaka	‘Alstonia sp.’
MM	East Kara	savəf	‘Alstonia scholaris’ (-f unexplained)
MM	Patpatar	sabau	‘Alstonia scholaris’ (-u unexplained)
MM	Nehan	habau	‘Alstonia scholaris’ (-u unexplained)
MM	Varisi	baɣava	‘Alstonia scholaris’ (W. McClatchey, pers. comm.)
MM	Avasö	boava	‘Alstonia scholaris’ (W. McClatchey, pers. comm.)
MM	Ririo	boʔo	‘Alstonia scholaris’ (W. McClatchey, pers. comm.)
MM	Babatana	bua	‘Alstonia scholaris’ (W. McClatchey, pers. comm.)
MM	Sisiqa	baɣava	‘Alstonia scholaris’ (W. McClatchey, pers. comm.)
SES	Gela	habaga	‘Alstonia scholaris’
SES	Kwaio	tabaʔa	‘Alstonia scholaris’
SES	Kwara’ae	tabaʔa	‘Alstonia scholaris’
SES	Ulawa	tabaʔa	‘Alstonia scholaris’

3.2. Falcataria moluccana (syn. Albizia falcataria, Albizia moluccana, Albizia falcata, Paraserianthes falcataria) (Mimosaceae)⇫

Falcataria moluccana was until recently known as Albizia falcataria. Because there are items in the data glossed ‘Albizia sp.’ which may in fact denote Falcataria moluccana, the genera Falcataria and Albizia are handled together here.

The small-leafed crown of Falcataria moluccana emerges above all other trees in Bismarcks rain forests. It grows to between 30 and 60 m in height with a trunk up to 1 m in diameter (Peekel 1984: 207-208), but it is brittle and can come crashing to the ground (W. McClatchey, pers. comm.).

On New Britain and on Manus its trunk is used for canoe hulls, on New Britain also for slitgongs (Powell 1976, Arentz et al. 1989: 94, O’Collins & Lamothe 1989). However, McClatchey points out that it does not serve these purposes well, as objects made from it don’t last. It is more likely to be given to learner carvers or canoe-makers for practice.

The reconstruction of a term (or terms) for Falcataria moluccana is difficult. Kwa’ioloa & Burt (2001: 107), discussing the similar Albizia salomonensis on Malaita, say that it only grows close to rivers and prefers sandy soils. If the same is true of Falcataria moluccana, then its occurrence in Bismarcks rain forests three thousand years ago may have been rather rare, resulting in the frequent loss of inherited terms for the species. Alternatively, the fact that it has little use may account for the dearth of cognates (ch.14, §2).

All three reconstructions below entail uncertainties. POc *babak has just two reflexes. With regard to POc *pail and *kai(k), POc vowel sequences like *-ai- were fairly rare, and it is possible that *q intervened between *a and *i, but *-q- is reflected in none of the modern languages nor in the CMP cognates which support the reconstruction of PCEMP *bail³ and *ka(w)iak.⁴ The latter is reconstructed with an uncertain medial -w-, reflected in E Sumba kawia[ka]. If -w- was present at an earlier stage, it is irregularly lost in Nakanai kai.

POc		*babak	‘Falcataria moluccana’
Adm	Bipi	pap	‘Falcataria moluccana’
MM	East Kara	vavak	‘Falcataria moluccana’

PCEMP		*bail	‘Falcataria moluccana or Albizia sp.’
POc		*pail	‘Falcataria moluccana’
Adm	Nyindrou	bei	‘Falcataria moluccana’
NNG	Lukep	pai-pai	‘tree sp. with light wood used for making canoe’s outrigger’
MM	Tolai	vail-ail	‘a beach tree, Pongamia pinnata’
MM	Nehan	puil	‘Falcataria moluccana’ (-ui- for †-ei-)
MM	Babatana	va-vae (miga)	‘Albizia saman’ (introduced from S America)
MM	Kia	fai	‘Falcataria moluccana’ (W. McClatchey, pers. comm.)
SES	Longgu	pai	‘tree sp. used to make canoes’
SES	Kwara’ae	fai	‘Falcataria moluccana’

PCEMP		*ka(w)iak	‘Albizia sp.’
POc		*kai(k)	‘Albizia sp.’
MM	Nakanai	kai	‘Albizia sp.’ (Floyd 1954)

3.3. Octomeles sumatrana, TP erima (Datiscaceae)⇫

Octomeles sumatrana is one of the tallest trees in the Bismarck Archipelago and Bougainville, at 40-80 m tall with huge buttresses, above which the trunk of soft white wood is up to 2.5 m in diameter (Peekel 1984: 391). The nectar-rich flowers attract flying foxes (Record 1945). The wood is widely used in the Bismarcks to make canoes (Floyd 1954, Peekel 1984:391, Arentz et al. 1989:93, Floyd 1954, Bugenhagen & Bugenhagen n.d.).

Octomeles sumatrana is apparently of little significance in the Solomons (Whitmore 1966)⁵ and does not occur at all in Vanuatu, to judge from its absence from Gowers (1976) and Wheatley (1992).

The reconstruction below is for PWOc only, but this is not surprising in view of the limited distribution. Two versions of the reconstruction are supported, *kuRim(a,o) and *iRim(a,o). They overlap geographically, and their initial syllables may simply reflect different prefixes (ch.2, §7.1.2).

PWOc		*kuRim(a,o), *iRim(a,o)	‘Octomeles sumatrana’ (ACD: *iRimo)
NNG	Mangap	kurīmi	‘Octomeles sumatrana’
NNG	Yabem	(ka)kelim	‘tree with large leaves and thick, strong trunk’ (identified as Octomeles sp. by Lane-Poole 1925)
PT	Motu	irimo	‘tree sp. from which canoes are generally made’
PT	Ubir	irim	‘tree sp., used for canoes’
PT	Tawala	ilimo	‘large tree sp., used for war canoes’
MM	Nakanai	(ko)imu	‘Octomeles sumatrana’ (zero for †-l- < *-R-)
MM	East Kara	ima	‘Octomeles sumatrana’
MM	Madak	ima	‘tree sp.’
MM	Patpatar	irime	‘Octomeles sumatrana’
MM	Tolai	irima	‘Octomeles sumatrana’
MM	Label	irimu	‘Octomeles sumatrana’
MM	Teop	inimo	‘Octomeles sumatrana’ (Record 1945)
MM	Babatana	vurima	‘Octomeles sumatrana’ (McClatchey et al. 2005)

4. The forest canopy⇫

As a rough rule of thumb, trees of the forest canopy are assumed to be those which grow to between 30 and 50 m. There are also several species, noted in the subsections of §5, which are usually sub-canopy trees but which grow taller in some localities and become part of the canopy itself.

Certain trees of the forest canopy are treated elsewhere in this volume. Strangler figs become part of the forest canopy by using an existing tree as host to piggyback their way into the light (ch.1 0, §4). Canarium species and Terminalia species, especially Terminalia kaernbachii, and Pometia pinnata, are canopy trees in the Bismarcks, but have also long been cultivated, the first two for their nuts and Pometia pinnata for its fruit, and are thus treated in ch.11 (§§2.1, 2.4 and 3.5 respectively).

There are several canopy trees that are only reported from lowland rain forests in the Solomons but not in the Bismarcks, and for some of these no POc term can be reconstructed. This is perhaps significant, given that the POc homeland is believed to have been in the Bismarcks (vol.2, ch.2). These trees are Gmelina moluccana, Pterocymbium species, Schizomeria serrata and Terminalia calamansanai (Mueller-Dombois & Fosberg 1998: 53-54).

4.1. Campnosperma brevipetiolatum (Anacardiaceae)⇫

Campnosperma brevipetiolatum is a large canopy tree, growing up to 50 m in height. Its straight smooth trunk has a cylindrical bole, usually up to 1.2 min diameter and occasionally as much as 2m (Conn & Damas 2006).

The Bola of New Britain use it for canoe hulls (Powell 1976). The Marovo consider it inferior to Gmelina moluccana for this purpose, but good for house planks (Hviding 2005: 134).

Campnosperma brevipetiolatum is apparently not found in Remote Oceania, and its distribution in the Bismarcks and the Solomons seems to be patchy, as it is missing from the usually very thorough Peekel (1984) and Henderson & Hancock (1988). There is just one weakly supported POc term for the species, namely *olaŋa.

POc		*olaŋa	‘Campnosperma brevipetiolatum’
Adm	Bipi	laŋ	‘Campnosperma brevipetiolatum’ (O’Collins and Lamothe 1989)
Adm	Nyindrou	lam	‘Campnosperma brevipetiolatum’ (O’Collins and Lamothe 1989)
MM	Marovo	olaŋa	‘Campnosperma brevipetiolatum’

4.2. Cinnamomum spp., wild cinnamon (Lauraceae)⇫

Trees of the genus Cinnamomum grow to 30 m. They are known for their barks, which are widely processed to make spices and to extract essential oils. Only one of the items in the cognate set supporting POc *(m,mʷ)aso(q)u ‘Cinnamomum sp.’ includes a species-level identification within the genus Cinnamomum: Lou moso is glossed as Cinnamomum xanthoneuron, a ‘wild cinnamon’. This is not one of the three species that provide commercial cinnamon bark,⁶ but one of two tree species exploited by German traders on the north coast of New Guinea under German colonial rule and into the 1930s for their essential oils. The other was not a Cinnamomum species but Cryptocarya aromatica (syn. Cryptocarya massoy, Massoia aromatica), and there was much confusion as to which oil came from the bark of which tree. The oils from these two species are known as lawag oil and massoia oil.⁷ It is possible that Mager’s gloss of the Bing and Gedaged reflexes as Cryptocarya aromatica reflects this confusion and that the intended denotatum was Cinnamomum xanthoneuron. At any rate, it seems likely that POc *(m,mʷ)aso(q)u did indeed denote Cinnamomum xanthoneuron. The fragrance of Cinnamomum xanthoneuron (and/or Cryptocarya aromatica) bark was known to the traditional residents of north New Guinea and the Bismarcks, as Mager (19 52: 204) reports in his gloss of the Gedaged and Bing items,

The bark is used a great deal in sorcery. It is chewed and spit [sic] out into the face of the spirits, so as to drive them away. A piece of bark is carried in the net bag to keep evil spirits from harming the child.

Arentz et al. (1989: 92) also report that on New Britain the bark is consumed as a medicine against fever and stomach pain.

POc *(m,mʷ)aso(q)u has cognates in the languages of Java: Sundanese maŋsoi, Javanese masoyi, masogi, Madurese masoji, all denoting massoia oil rather than a tree species. The species label ‘massoy’ and the term ‘massoia’ are probably derived from the Javanese term, but, as a result of the confusion between the two oils, are applied to Cryptocarya aromatica, syn. massoy, and its essential oil, rather than to Cinnamomum xanthoneuron. It seems likely, incidentally, that Are masoɣi (for †masou) is a borrowing, perhaps indirectly, from Javanese, rather than a directly inherited reflex of *(m,mʷ)aso(q)u.⁸

The reflexes of POc *(m,mʷ)aso(q)u reveal a further set of complications. (Blust 1981a) glosses the Lou and Nauna terms ‘Cananga odorata’ (§5.2), rather than a Cinnamomum species, and this is also the gloss of the Meso-Melanesian reflexes. Fijian has two terms: Bauan maðou ‘wild cinnamon, Cinnamomum sp.’ and Bauan makosoi / Wayan mākosoi, both ‘Cananga odorata’. The latter appear to be metathesised forms of a PCP compound *(m,mʷ)aso-koi ‘perfume tree, Cananga odorata’.⁹ This raises the possibility that POc *(m,mʷ)aso(q)u denoted Cananga odorata as well as cinnamon, i.e. that it denoted a taxon of perfumed trees. PCP then seems to have distinguished between *(m,mʷ)aso ‘cinnamon’ and *(m,mʷ)aso-koi ‘Cananga odorata’.

The possibility that there was such a taxon is strengthened by an observation by Will McClatchey (pers. comm.) that the quote from Mager above could also be applied to the Fijian and Western Polynesian use of Cananga odorata.

The Meso-Melanesian forms below, apparently reflecting PMM *mud(e)u (rather than †*moso(u)) are problematic. They may reflect a PMM borrowing or a non-cognate chance resemblance.

POc		*(m,mʷ)aso(q)u	‘wild cinnamon, Cinnamomum sp., probably Cinnamomum xanthoneuron; possibly also Cananga odorata’ (Milke 1968)
Adm	Mussau	mosou	‘wild cinnamon, Cinnamomum sp.’
Adm	Lou	moso	‘tree with redolent bark, the cinnamon, Cinnamomum xanthoneuron’
Adm	Baluan	mʷasow	‘wild cinnamon, Cinnamomum sp.’
Adm	Nauna	moso	‘Cananga odorata’ (Blust 1981a)
NNG	Mengen	miau	‘Cinnamomum sp.’
NNG	Kove	modou	‘aromatic plant, possibly cinnamon, used in healing’ (A. Chowning, pers. comm.)
NNG	Yabem	mʋsı	‘wild cinnamon, Cinnamomum sp.’
NNG	Bing	miyou	‘Cryptocarya aromatica’ (Mager 1952: 204)
NNG	Gedaged	mio	‘Cryptocarya aromatica’ (Mager 1952: 204)
NNG	Megiar	muyou	‘cinnamon bark’ (Kasprus 1945)
PT	Are	masoɣi	‘wild cinnamon, Cinnamomum sp.’ (borrowed ?)
MM	East Kara	mədeu	‘Cananga odorata’
MM	Nehan	mudu-mud	‘Cananga odorata’
MM	Varisi	mudu-mudu	‘Cananga odorata’ (McClatchey et al. 2005)
MM	Ririo	mud-mud	‘Cananga odorata’ (W. McClatchey, pers. comm.)
MM	Babatana	mudu-mudu	‘Cananga odorata’ (McClatchey et al. 2005)
MM	Nduke	mu-mudu	‘Cananga odorata’
MM	Marovo	mudu	‘a tree of the secondary forest, with yellow fragrant flowers that are used in coconut oil’
Fij	Bauan	maðou	‘wild cinnamon, Cinnamomum sp.’
PCP		*(m,mʷ)aso-koi	‘perfume tree, Cananga odorata’ (Milke 1961)
Fij	Wayan	mākosoi	‘Cananga odorata’ (metathesis)
Fij	Bauan	makosoi	‘Cananga odorata’ (metathesis)
PPn		*mosokoi	‘Cananga odorata’
Pn	Tongan	mohokoi	‘Cananga odorata’
Pn	East Futunan	mosokoi	‘Cananga odorata’
Pn	Tikopia	mosokoi	‘Cananga odorata’
Pn	Samoan	mosoʔoi	‘Cananga odorata’

cf. also:

SES	Kwara’ae	mudu	‘Dillenia ingens’
Fij	Rotuman	moskoy	‘tree with greenish-yellow flowers and clusters of fruit; timber used for canoes’ (Polynesian borrowing)

4.3. Dillenia schlechteri (syn. Dillenia macrophylla) (Dilleniaceae)⇫

There are many Dillenia species in SE Asia and Oceania, some of them tall canopy trees, others smaller trees of the lower canopy.¹⁰ Only one species is reported from the Bismarcks (Peekel 1984: 375, Conn & Damas 2006), Dillenia schlechteri, a canopy tree 30–50 m tall with a light red trunk. However, there is linguistic evidence in the form of POc *drokol (§5.4) that at least one sub-canopy species was known to POc speakers.

In the Admiralties Dillenia schlechteri is used for house construction. The timber is said to last over 30 years if it is not exposed to the elements (O’Collins & Lamothe 1989).

The second and third vowels and the possible final consonant of POc *kulapu(R) ‘Dillenia schlechteri’ are due to the reconstruction of PMP *kelabuR ‘large Dillenia species’ on the basis of the data below and of Blit Manobo klambug (daka) ‘Dillenia megalantha’ (cf§5.4), Bagobo kalambok, Lanao kalambuguy,¹¹ both ‘Dillenia philippinensis’ (Madulid 2001b: 100).

PMP		*kelabuR	‘large Dillenia species’
POc		*kulapu(R)	‘Dillenia schlechteri’
Adm	Nyindrou	kun	‘Dillenia sp.’
MM	Patpatar	(e)kulap	‘Dillenia schlechteri’
Fij	Bauan	kuluva	‘Dillenia biflora’ (Keppel et al. 2005)
Fij	Wayan	kulu-kulu	‘Dillenia biflora’12

4.4. Dracontomelon dao (syn. Dracontomelon mangiferum, Dracontomelon edule), New Guinea walnut, Dragon plum, TP mon, B nakatambol (Anacardiaceae)⇫

The New Guinea walnut tree, Dracontomelon dao, is massive, usually reaching 30-35 m, and occasionally 50 m, in height. It has large buttresses and above the buttresses often has a circumference of 3-5 m. At a height of about 7-10 m the trunk divides into a pair of large branches. Each of them continues to divide upwards and sideways recursively to form a large umbrella-shaped crown. The leaves are made up of 6 to 10 leaflets with a smooth edge (Figure 7.3). The fruit are small, 2-3 cm in diameter, and have five flecks around them. The small amount of flesh around the flattened seed is edible but tart and is consumed fresh (Peekel 1984: 323, French 1986: 238). Dracontomelon dao occurs from SE Asia to the Solomons (Walter & Sam 2002: 158).

Bourke (in preparation, n.d.) writes that although Dracontomelon dao was traditionally a significant fruit in the area around Madang, it is unimportant or absent elsewhere in the lowlands of New Guinea. Places where it is recorded as being eaten are the Schouten Islands off the mouth of the Sepik River, some of the small islands in the Admiralties, some islands in SE Papua, the Duke of York Islands (between New Britain and New Ireland), Nissan Island (between New Ireland and Bougainville) and Bougainville. The only report of cultivation comes from French, who says it is sometimes planted from seed.

Two terms are reconstructable: POc *raqu(p) and PNCV *katabola. The final bracketed *-p of *raqu(p) is added to take account of th1e final consonants of the Patpatar and Tolai reflexes. However, there are no known non-Oceanic reflexes of *-p. The PCP *tawa-raqu ‘Dracontomelon vitiense’ contains a reflex of POc *tawan ‘Pometia pinnata’ (ch. 11, §3.5) as its first element, as the fruits of the two plants are similar in appearance (Geraghty 2004: 80).

PAn		*daqu	‘Dracontomelon dao’ (Blust 1986)
POc		*raqu(p)	‘New Guinea walnut, Dracontomelon dao’
Adm	Mussau	ra	‘Dracontomelon dao’
Adm	Nyindrou	ⁿrau	‘Dracontomelon sp.’
Adm	Baluan	you	‘Dracontomelon dao’
NNG	Lukep	rak	‘Dracontomelon dao’
NNG	Takia	rau	‘Dracontomelon dao’
MM	Nakanai	lahu	‘a tall tree (Anacardiaceae) used for planks’
MM	Tolai	laup	‘Dracontomelon dao’ (for †rau)
MM	Patpatar	loh	‘Dracontomelon dao’ (for †ro)
PROc		*raqu	‘dragon plum tree, Dracontomelon dao’
NCV	Mwotlap	ye	‘Dracontomelon dao’
NCV	Mota	rau	‘a fruit tree’
NCV	Paamese	e-au	‘Dracontomelon dao’
NCV	Lewo	(puru-)lu	‘Dracontomelon dao’
NCV	Namakir	raʔ	‘Dracontomelon dao’
NCV	Nguna	na-rau	‘Dracontomelon dao’
NCV	Nguna	na-rau	‘Dracontomelon dao’
SV	Sye	na-raɣ	‘Dracontomelon dao’
SV	Kwamera	nə-rai	‘Dracontomelon dao’
PCP		*(tawa)raqu	‘dragon plum tree, Dracontomelon vitiense’
Fij	Wayan	(tawa)rau	‘Dracontomelon vitiense’
Fij	Rotuman	(jav)rau	‘Dracontomelon vitiense’ (Geraghty 2004: 80)
Pn	Emae	(tava)rau	‘Dracontomelon vitiense’ (Geraghty 2004: 80)
Pn	West Futunan	(tave)rau	‘Dracontomelon vitiense’ (Geraghty 2004: 80)

PNCV		*katabola	‘Dracontomelon dao’ (Clark 1996)
NCV	Ambae	gatabola	‘Dracontomelon dao’
NCV	Kiai	atapolo	‘Dracontomelon dao’
NCV	Raga	ɣatabola	‘tree sp.’ (Walsh 2004)
NCV	Tamambo	(vu)hatabola	‘tree sp.’
NCV	Big Nambas	na-hatapul	‘Dracontomelon dao’
NCV	Uripiv	ni-tapol	‘Dracontomelon dao’
NCV	Naman	n-atabal	‘Dracontomelon dao’
NCV	Neve’ei	na-ʔatebʷel	‘Dracontomelon dao’
NCV	Avava	atibol	‘Dracontomelon dao’
NCV	Nese	ɣatabol	‘Dracontomelon dao’

4.5. Dysoxylum spp., stinktree, stinkwood, B stingwud (Meliaceae)⇫

A number of Dysoxylum species grow in NW Island Melanesia, ranging from the tall canopy tree Dysoxylum gaudichaudianum (syn. D. amooriodes) sometimes growing to 35 m, to the sub-canopy tree Dysoxylum kaniense. An important tree between these extremes is Dysoxylum arborescens, also a canopy tree, but usually only 20–30 m high (Wheatley 1992: 157-160, Kwa’ioloa & Burt2001: 181, Conn & Damas 2006).

A salient feature of all Dysoxylum species is their strong smell, which varies from species to species: some are unpleasant, some pleasant (W. McClatchey, pers. comm.). The unpleasant smell of certain Dysoxylum species has earned them the English name ‘stinktree’ or ‘stinkwood’: when the bark is stripped off and fresh wood is exposed, Dysoxylum gaudichaudianum is said by the Kwara’ae to smell like a man who has not washed and Dysoxylum kaniense to have a smell that induces vomiting (Kwa’ioloa & Burt 2001: 122, 181). Whistler (1991b: 93) comments that the leaves have ‘a disagreeable odor’. Despite the smell, the wood of Dysoxylum species is a useful hardwood, and the timber of the larger species is widely used for house posts (Floyd 1954, Whistler 1991b: 93, Wheatley 1992: 157, 162, Kwa’ioloa & Burt 2001: 122).

POc *maqota perhaps denoted a taxon including several Dysoxylum species. All the species mentioned in the glosses below are tall canopy trees except Dysoxylum kaniense and Dysoxylum spectabile, but this is perhaps because the larger species are more widespread and more salient.

Lynch (2001c: 242) attributes the SV members of the two cognate sets below to a single PSV etymon *ni-m(d,t)awan, but they appear to reflect two etyma. PSV *nə-mtaw reflects metathesis of a variant form *mawota, also reflected in Bauan Fijian mavota. Proto Erakor-Tafea (Lynch 2001c: 189) *tuan is a separate etymon.¹³

POc		*maqota	‘Dysoxylum spp.’
PT	Muyuw	(a)mʷakot	‘a 20-metre Dysoxylum sp.’
SES	Kwara’ae	maoa	‘Dysoxylum kaniense’
NCV	Mwotlap	ma-mot	‘Dysoxylum arborescens’
NCV	Mota	ma-maota	‘tree sp.’
PSV		*na-mtaw	‘Dysoxylum sp.’ (Lynch 2001c)
SV	Sye	ni-mtu	‘Dysoxylum aneityense’
SV	Anejom̃	ne-mtav	‘Dysoxylum aneityense’
Fij	Bauan	mavota	‘Myristica grandiflora’ (for †maota)
Pn	Tongan	moʔota	‘taxon of three Dysoxylum spp., but primarily Dysoxylum forsteri’ (’Whistler 1991b: 92-93)
Pn	Niuean	moota	‘tree, Dysoxylum richii, timber used to build main hull of canoe’ (also maota)
Pn	East Uvean	maʔota	‘Dysoxylum samoensis’
Pn	East Futunan	māʔota	‘shrub sp., Dysoxylum forsteri’
Pn	Rennellese	maʔota	‘tree sp., Dysoxylum gaudichaudianum, valuable for house timbers’
Pn	Samoan	maota	‘Dysoxylum spp.’ (Whistler 2000: 181)
Pn	Takuu	maota	‘hard, red, wood that drifts to Takuu’
Pn	Māori	māota	‘Dysoxylum spectabile’

Proto Erakor-Tafea		*tuan	‘Dysoxylum spp.’
NCV	South Efate	ne-tue	‘Anthocarapa nitidula’ (Wheatley 1992: 157)
SV	Lenakel	ne-tuan	‘Dysoxylum gaudichaudianum’
SV	Kwamera	nə-tuan	‘Dysoxylum gaudichaudianum’

4.6. Elaeocarpus spp. (Elaeocarpaceae)⇫

Elaeocarpus species in NW Island Melanesia include the large canopy trees Elaeocarpus angustifolius (syn. Elaeocarpus sphaericus) with its distinctively cornflower-blue fruit and Elaeocarpus floridanus, more common in the Solomons than the Bismarcks, with dark blue or black fruit (syn. Elaeocarpus pseudosepicanus), both 25 or more metres tall, as well as shrub-sized trees of the understorey like Elaeocarpus edulis (syn. Aceratium oppositifolium), 3-6 m tall, with its 4 x 3cm ellipsoid apple-red fruit. The fruits of all species are inedible (Peekel 1984: 352-353, Wheatley 1992: 85, Kwa’ioloa & Burt 2001: 123).

The large species provide wood for house beams at various locations (Record 1945, Arentz et al. 1989: 94), but Will McClatchey (pers. comm.) finds that it is not useful in the traditional communities which he has studied.

Although plenty of names for Elaeocarpus species have been collected, surprisingly few of them form cognate sets - none at all for POc or Western Oceanic, and one each for PEOc and PSV. The absence of a POc or PWOc term perhaps exemplifies the principle that the names of less useful plants are easily forgotten (§2), so that present-day names reflect new coinages at different island Melanesian localities. Alternatively, it may be that Elaeocarpus species were rare in the environments of early Oceanic speakers: the botanical literature suggests that large Elaeocarpus species are significant contributors to the canopy of lowland rain forests in Bougainville and the Solomons but not in the Bismarcks where POc was spoken (Paijmans 1976:64–65, Mueller-Dombois & Fosberg 1998:53-54, 60–61).

Two reconstructions are presented below. PEOc *melo ‘Elaeocarpus angustifolius’ is supported by just two reflexes, but the languages are sufficiently far apart to preclude borrowing.

PEOc		*melo	‘Elaeocarpus angustifolius’
SES	Kwara’ae	melo	‘Elaeocarpus angustifolius’
NCV	Vera’a	mel	‘Elaeocarpus angustifolius’

PSV		*na-(s,j)u(v,w)as	‘Elaeocarpus angustifolius’ (Lynch 2004a)
SV	Sye	ne-yoh	‘Elaeocarpus angustifolius’
SV	Kwamera	nə-suvas	‘k.o. tree with edible seeds in a hairy pod’
SV	Anejom̃	na-woθ	‘Elaeocarpus angustifolius’

4.7. Endospermum spp., cheesewood, milkwood, whitewood, PNG basswood, B waetwud, melektri (Euphorbiaceae)⇫

Within island Melanesia Endospermum medullosum (Figure 7.5, left) is present in the Bismarcks, the Solomons and Vanuatu; Endospermum moluccanum is reported only from the Bismarcks (Peekel 1984: 313, Wheatley 1992:91, Hviding 2005: 135). Occasionally an emergent tree, otherwise a large canopy tree up to 45 m high, Endospermum medullosum has a markedly fluted bole of 45-100 cm diameter, sometimes crooked, sometimes straight and up to 25 m long. It has a distinctive crown, shallow, flat-topped and umbrella-like. Its distribution is limited by the fact that it does not tolerate shade: it grows well only where there are gaps in the canopy (Thomson 2006a).

A somewhat smaller but similar member of the genus is Endospermum moluccanum (syn. Endospermum formicarum),¹⁴ sometimes a canopy tree up to 25m high, sometimes a sub-canopy tree (Conn & Damas 2006).

Both species have lightweight wood that is used for fishing-net floats. Peekel (1984: 315) reports from New Ireland that the pith of the twigs of Endospermum moluccanum is usually destroyed by black ants, which inhabit the resulting space. Kwa’ioloa & Burt (2001: 115) report from Kwara’ae that Endospermum medullosum is not used in house construction because the wood is eaten by insects.

POc *koma(r,R)(o,u) may have referred to either or both species. Like the large Elaeocarpus species (§4.6), Endospermum species are not prominent in Bismarcks rain forests, and appear to have undergone a good deal of local re-naming.

POc		*koma(r,R)(o,u)	‘Endospermum sp.’
MM	Nakanai	ko-komalu	‘Endospermum moluccanum’
NCV	Mwotlap	no-komʷa	‘Endospermum sp.’
NCV	Araki	(vi)kunᫀaro	‘Endospermum medullosum’
NCV	Tangoa	(vi)kumaro	‘Endospermum medullosum’ (Gowers 1976: 73)
NCV	Sakao	(du)gomara	‘Endospermum medullosum’ (Gowers 1976: 73)

4.8. Garuga floribunda (syn. Garuga abilo), B namalaus (Burseraceae)⇫

Garuga floribunda is a canopy tree which grows to a height of up to 25m in Vanuatu and up to 35m in Papua New Guinea (Wheatley 1992:63, Conn & Damas 2006). It has a short bole and steeply rising branches, often with a flat crown (Johns 1976: 195). According to Paijmans (1976: 52) its occurrence is limited to the few locations where there is a marked dry season.

There is apparently a traditional perception that Garuga floribunda resembles the smaller Spondias cytherea, noted by Peekel (1984: 283) for New Ireland and reflected in PNCV *mala-usi ‘Garuga floribunda’, reconstructed below. The perception is apparently based on the fact that both trees lose their leaves and are bare between flowering and fruiting. PNCV *mala-usi consists of a reflex of the POc prefix *mala- ‘resembling’ (ch.2, §7.1.4) plus PNCV *usi ‘Spondias cytherea’ (ch.ll, §3.6), i.e. its original meaning was evidently ‘resembing Spondias cytherea’. As noted below, there are also unprefixed reflexes of PNCV *usi which denote Garuga floribunda.

PCP *manaui ‘Garuga floribunda’, also below, appears cognate with the PNCV form, but the medial consonants do not correspond, suggesting that one of the two forms is the result of borrowing. Since PNCV *mala- regularly reflects POc *mala-, but PCP *mana- (instead of expected †*mala-) does not, it is the Central Pacific forms that appear to reflect a borrowing.

PNCV		*malausi	‘Garuga floribunda’ (from data in Wheatley 1992)
NCV	Mota	mʷa-mʷalau	‘Garuga floribunda’
NCV	Ambae	malawhi	‘Garuga floribunda’
NCV	Nduindui	malaouk	‘Garuga floribunda’
NCV	Tamambo	(vu)malaus	‘Garuga floribunda’
NCV	Tangoa	(vi)malaus	‘Garuga floribunda’
NCV	Tolomako	na-malaus	‘Garuga floribunda’
PCP		*manaui	‘Garuga floribunda’
Fij	Wayan	manawī	‘a tree of dry forest, Rhus taitensis’15
Pn	Tongan	manaui	‘Garuga floribunda’
Pn	East Futunan	manaui	‘large forest tree, Myristica hypargyraea’
Pn	Samoan	maŋaui	‘a large tree, Garuga floribunda’ (Whistler 2000: 179)

PNCV		*usi	‘mummy apple, Spondias cytherea’ (from data in Wheatley 1992)
NCV	Maewo	o-us	‘Garuga floribunda’
NCV	Nduindui	uhi	‘Garuga floribunda’
NCV	Tolomako	na-us	‘Garuga floribunda’
NCV	Tangoa	(vi)usi	‘Garuga floribunda’
NCV	Uripiv	na-us	‘Garuga floribunda’

4.9. Intsia bijuga (syn. Intsia amboinensis, Afzelia bijuga), ironwood, island teak, TP kwila, B natora (Cisalpiniaceae)⇫

One of the larger trees of the forests of NW Island Melanesia, Intsia bijuga grows 40-45 m tall and sometimes more (Figure 7.6, left). It is common on the foreshore, but also occurs in lowland rain forests (Peekel 1984: 214-216).

Intsia bijuga is considered one of the strongest and most durable woods in NW Island Melanesia and Vanuatu. It seasons slowly with very little shrinkage and is durable in the ground, resistant to termites and moderately durable in salt water (Gowers 1976: 91). Its uses range from house posts and floorboards to axe handles, slitgongs and wooden bowls (Streicher 1982, Arentz et al. 1989:94, Whistler 1991b: 125, Hviding 2005: 122, F. Damon, pers. comm.). Damon reports that on Woodlark Island it was used for the steering oars of the large canoes that plied the eastern half of the Kula ring.

Superficially, it looks as if there were two POc terms for Intsia bijuga: *toRas and *qipil. However, Blust’s gloss of PMP *teRas as ‘hard, hardwood’ suggests that POc *toRas too may have denoted ‘hardwood’ in general or a taxon of hardwood trees, rather than Intsia bijuga in particular. This would explain why some of its reflexes denote other hardwood trees. In particular, its Proto Polynesian reflex, *toa, was reapplied to Casuarina equisetifolia. In Muyuw the term meikʷ is used both for Intsia bijuga and for the hard heartwood of any tree (F. Damon, pers. comm.). Thus one word for hardwood has been replaced by another in naming Intsia bijuga.

It seems that PMP *teRas / POc *toRas was, in one of its senses, a stative verb meaning ‘hard, durable’. PMic had a stative verb *ma-toa ‘be firm, hard strong’ (Bender et al. 2003: 54), and tree-denoting reflexes sometimes occur with verbal morphology. In CMP languages we find W Sumba, E Sumba kandora, E Sumba mandora ‘Calophyllum inophyllum’ (Verheijen 1990: 197), reflecting the PMP stative prefixes *ka- and *ma- respectively (Evans & Ross 2001).

Polynesian languages, meanwhile, have reapplied the PCP reflex of POc *pesi ‘a coastal forest tree, perhaps Pongamia pinnata’ to Intsia bijuga (ch.5, §5.12).

PMP		*teRas	‘hard; hardwood’ (Blust 1972a)
POc		*toRas	‘a taxon of hardwood trees including Intsia bijuga’ (?)
Adm	Seimat	tor	‘Intsia bijuga’ (-r for †-ŋ: borrowed?) (Sorensen 1950)
Adm	Lou	to	‘Intsia bijuga’
NNG	Kairiru	tor	‘Intsia bijuga’
MM	Sursurunga	toraha	‘a hardwood tree’
MM	Nehan	toraha	‘tree sp. with strong yellowish-white wood, used for carving slitgong drums and paddles’
MM	Halia	tolasa	‘same tree: sp. as Nehan toraha’
MM	Petats	tolas	‘Vitex monophylla’
MM	Teop	tora	‘Vitex monophylla’
MM	Maringe	tʰola	‘type of large softwood tree; canoe with two upraised ends’
PEOc		*toRa(s)	‘a hardwood tree, Intsia bijuga’
SES	Lau	ola	‘a canoe built of planks sewn together’
SES	Kwara’ae	uʔula	‘Intsia bijuga’ (*o > u: irregular change)
SES	Arosi	ora	‘tree sp. from which best canoes are made; plank-built canoe’
NCV	Mwotlap	no-toy	‘Decaspermum neoebudicum’
NCV	Merlav	tor	‘Casuarina equisetifolia’ (François 2004b)
NCV	South Efate	na-tor	‘Intsia bijuga’
NCV	Mota	tora	‘a timber tree’
NCV	Ambae	tora	‘Intsia bijuga’
NCV	Tamambo	(vu)tora	‘Intsia bijuga’
NCV	Raga	tora	‘Intsia bijuga’
NCV	Atchin	tor	‘tree sp., used for canoes, posts, etc.’
NCV	Nese	na-toɾ	‘Intsia bijuga’
NCV	Uripiv	na-toɾ	‘Intsia bijuga’
NCV	Paamese	a-to	‘tree sp. with sap which stings’
Fij	Bauan	doa	‘the heartwood of a tree, solid and dark’
PPn		*toa	‘Casuarina equisetifolia’ (POLLEX)
Pn	Niuean	toa	‘Casuarina equisetifolia’
Pn	Tongan	toa	‘Casuarina equisetifolia’
Pn	East Uvean	toa	‘Casuarina equisetifolia’
Pn	East Futunan	toa	‘Casuarina equisetifolia’
Pn	Rennellese	toa	‘Casuarina equisetifolia’
Pn	Emae	toa	‘Casuarina equisetifolia’
Pn	Tikopia	toa	‘Casuarina equisetifolia’
Pn	West Futunan	toa	‘Casuarina equisetifolia’
Pn	Ifira-Mele	toa	‘Casuarina equisetifolia’
Pn	Samoan	toa	‘Casuarina equisetifolia’
Pn	Tahitian	toa	‘Casuarina equisetifolia’
Pn	Tuamotuan	toa	‘Casuarina equisetifolia’
Pn	Marquesan	toa	‘Casuarina equisetifolia’
Pn	Māori	toa-toa	‘Phyllocladus glaucus’

The inherited meaning of POc *qipil was apparently ‘Intsia bijuga’, but the glosses of its reflexes suggest that it also denoted ‘Casuarina equisetifolia’. Note that ‘ironwood’ and ‘kwila’ both refer to ‘Intsia bijuga’.

PMP		*qipil	‘a hardwood tree, Intsia bijuga’ (ACD; Dempwolff 1938: *ipil)
POc		*qipil	‘a taxon of hardwood trees including Intsia bijuga and Casuarina equisetifolia’ (ACD: *(q)ipil)
Adm	Drehet	ʔih	‘ironwood’
Adm	Likum	ih	‘Casuarina equisetifolia’
Adm	Nyindrou	eih	‘ironwood’
MM	Tolai	ip	‘tree sp.’
MM	Teop	ivin	‘a hardwood tree, kwila’
MM	Mono-Alu	ihili	‘Intsia bijuga’ (W. McClatchey, pers. comm.)
MM	Ririo	kivil	‘Intsia bijuga’
MM	Babatana	kivili	‘Casuarina equisetifolia’
MM	Marovo	kivili	‘Casuarina equisetifolia’
MM	Roviana	kifli	‘Intsia bijuga’ (W. McClatchey, pers. comm.)
MM	Kia	ivili	‘Intsia bijuga’
MM	Maringe	khifli	‘Intsia bijuga’ (W. McClatchey, pers. comm.)
NCV	Mwotlap	n-ip	‘Casuarina equisetifolia’
Mic	Kiribati	ibi	‘tree like Calophyllum inophyllum, but harder and heavier’
Pn	Samoan	ifi(fatu)	‘Intsia bijuga’
Pn	Samoan	ifi(lele)	‘a hard-grained Intsia bijuga’

PWOc		*bʷana	‘Intsia bijuga’
NNG	Manam	bʷana	‘Intsia bijuga’
NNG	Yabem	(ka)bʷɛŋ	‘ironwood’
MM	Bola	bana	‘ironwood’
MM	Nakanai	bala	‘Intsia bijuga’

4.10. Planchonella spp., B komtri (Sapotaceae)⇫

Planchonella species range in size from large canopy trees to small trees of the sub-canopy. The species division of the genus Planchonella remains controversial (Walter & Sam 2002: 226), partly, it seems, because there is considerable variation within and across species. This is perhaps due to past domestication, but the literature gives little indication of present-day cultivation.¹⁶ Borrell (1989: 134) identifies six species on Kairiru Island, two of which he is unable to name. There is also an overlap with the genus Pouteria, in the sense that species that have at one time or another been placed in the genus Planchonella have at others been placed in the genus Pouteria. Walter & Sam (2002: 226–227) include Planchonella grayana in their catalogue of fruit trees but say that it is little consumed (because the pulp irritates the gums) except at Tasmate (west Santo), where the mature fruit is either roasted whole or peeled, then washed to remove latex before it is eaten.

Peekel (1984: 429-431) describes Planchonella peekelii (syn. Sideroxylon peekelii), a tree about 15m tall with small ovoid fruit, but he does not mention consumption or any other use.

Depending on location, Planchonella costata (syn. Sideroxylon costa tum) varies in the Solomons and Vanuatu between a small sub-canopy tree and a large tree of the canopy. Its bark ranges from pale grey to black-brown, and it has long narrow leaves and round fruit 3-4cm in diameter. It has a preference for the beach or inland for moist habitats. Its wood is close-grained and can be finely worked: combs can be made from a single flat piece of wood (Gowers 1976: 113, Kwa’ioloa & Burt 2001: 140–141). Wheatley (1992) identifies Planchonella grayana as a variety of Planchonella costata. Gowers (1976: 115) also describes Planchonella linggensis, labelled the ‘comb tree’, leading one to wonder if this also is a variety of Planchonella costata.

In view of this variation we can be sure only that POc *kalaka denoted a species of Planchonella, and perhaps several. Kairiru lalak may reflect a reduplication of suffixless *laka after deletion of the (apparent) prefix *ka- ‘tree’ (ch.2, §7.1.2).

POc		*kalaka	‘Planchonella sp.’
NNG	Kairiru	lalak	‘Planchonella obovoidea’
MM	Tolai	kalakala	‘tree sp.’
NCV	Raga	ɣaraŋa	‘Planchonella sp.’
NCV	Uripiv	na-klak	‘Planchonella/ Pouteria spp.’
PCP		*kalaka	‘Planchonella sp.’
Fij	Bauan	galaka	‘Planchonella costata’
Pn	Niuean	kalaka	‘Planchonella sp.’
Pn	Tongan	kalaka	‘Planchonella samoensis’
Pn	East Futunan	kalaka	‘tree sp.’
Pn	Emae	kalaka	‘tree sp.’
Pn	Samoan	alaʔa	‘Planchonella garberi’
Pn	Hawaiian	ʔālaʔa	‘Planchonella sandwicensis’
Pn	Tuamotuan	karaka	‘tree sp.’
Pn	Māori	karaka	‘Corynocarpus laevigata’

The glosses in the cognate set below imply that PCP *bau had the meaning which it retains in Wayan Fijian: ‘Tree … taxon: generic, includes species of Burckella, Manilkara, Palaquium and Planchonella (Sapotaceae)’ (Pawley & Sayaba 2003; see also ch.3, §3 .1). They are all medium to large rain forest trees of the family Sapotaceae. I had hesitated to assume that Teop bau ‘Leea tetramera’ is cognate, as Leea tetramera is a shrub, but Will Mc-Clatchey (pers. comm.) argues that all the plants listed below except Guettarda speciosa are hardwoods from which a useful club could be made and that this fact is central to the definition of the taxon. This being so, it is possible that POc *bau is identical with POc *bou ‘Fagraea spp.’ (ch.5, §5.6).

POc		*bau	‘hardwood taxon’ (see above)
MM	Teop	bau	‘Leea tetramera’
PCP		*bau	‘hardwood taxon’ (see above)
Fij	Wayan	bau	‘woody trees taxon including Burckella richii, Manilkara vitiensis, Palaquium fidjiense and Planchonella species’
Fij	Bauan	bau	‘Palaquium spp. (Keppel et al. 2005)’
Fij	Yasawa	bau	‘tree sp., probably Sapotaceae sp.’
Pn	Anutan	pau	‘Pipturus argenteus’
Pn	Tuvalu	pau	‘Guettarda speciosa, Mammea glauca’
Pn	Rennellese	pau	‘Planchonella sp.’
Pn	Samoan	pau	‘tree sp. Manilkara hoshinoi, from which clubs are made’

4.11. Pterocarpus indicus, New Guinea rosewood, flame wood, B nananara, navilae, bluwota (Fabaceae)⇫

In the Bismarck Archipelago Pterocarpus indicus grows in lowland rain forests, but in the Solomons it is more salient in freshwater swamp forests (Figure 7.5, right). It grows to varying sizes depending on its immediate environment. Sometimes it is an emergent tree up to 40 m high, often it is a large canopy tree, and under some conditions a tree of the lower canopy only 10m high. Like most canopy trees, it has a long bole (which is sometimes crooked) and buttresses which sometimes extend into flutes up the bole (Conn & Damas 2006, Henderson & Hancock 1988: 165, 320).

The flowers are small but bright yellow and fragrant. Its fruit comes in the form of disk-shaped pods. It has red sap, and one of its English names, ‘flame wood’, reflects the fact that its wood is multi-coloured: yellow, red and brown. Its alternative Bislama name bluwota reflects the fact that the wood and bark turn steel blue when immersed in water (Wheatley 1992: 145).

Pterocarpus indicus provides excellent timber, moderately soft, moderately light and permanently sweet-smelling. In various parts of the Solomons and Vanuatu the trunks are used for dugout canoes and planks and for carving (Henderson & Hancock 1988: 167, Wheatley 1992: 145, Kwa’ioloa & Burt 2001: 119, Hviding 2005: 142). It has similar uses in the Bismarcks, where it is also used for hourglass drums (Floyd 1954, Powell 1976).

In a variety of locations from the Bismarcks to Vanuatu an infusion of the young leaves or of the bark is used against diarrhoea or against excessive menstruation (Henderson & Hancock 1988: 167, Arentz et al. 1989: 92, Bourdy & Walter 1994).

Two POc terms for Pterocarpus indicus are reconstructable: *naRa and *Rigi.

PMP		*naRa	‘Pterocarpus indicus’ (Blust 1980b; ACD)
POc		*naRa	‘Pterocarpus indicus’
Adm	Lou	na	‘Pterocarpus indicus’ (Holdsworth and Wamoi 1981)
Adm	Baluan	nay	‘tree with red wood, probably Pterocarpus indicus’
NNG	Gitua	nara	‘Pterocarpus indicus’
NNG	Tami	nal	‘Pterocarpus indicus’
PT	Motu	nara	‘Pterocarpus indicus’
MM	Bola	nara-nara	‘Pterocarpus indicus’
MM	East Kara	naɣa	‘Pterocarpus indicus’
NCV	Mota	na-nara	‘Pterocarpus indicus’
NCV	Vera’a	na-nar	‘Pterocarpus indicus’
NCV	Raga	na-nara	‘Pterocarpus indicus’

POc		*Rigi	‘rosewood, Pterocarpus indicus’ (Geraghty 1990: PEOc *rike)
NNG	Atui	(ki)riŋ	‘Pterocarpus indicus’ (Arentz 1989:92)
MM	Nduke	rigi	‘Pterocarpus indicus’
MM	Roviana	rigi	‘tree sp. which yields a good red timber’
MM	Marovo	rigi	‘Pterocarpus indicus’
MM	Kia	grigi	‘Pterocarpus indicus’ (W. McClatchey, pers. comm.)
MM	Maringe	grigi	‘Pterocarpus indicus’ (Henderson and Hancock 1988)
SES	Bugotu	ligi	‘Pterocarpus indicus’ (W. McClatchey, pers. comm.)
SES	Gela	ligi	‘tree sp.’
SES	Bauro	riki	‘Pterocarpus indicus’
SES	Kwara’ae	liki	‘Pterocarpus indicus’
SES	Lau	liki	‘Pterocarpus indicus’
SES	Arosi	rigi	‘Pterocarpus indicus’
NCV	Bieria	(mi)like(he)	‘Pterocarpus indicus’
Pn	Rennellese	li[kq]e	‘tree sp.; barkcloth mallet’

4.12. Vitex cofassus, New Guinea teak, TP garamut (Lamiaceae)⇫

Vitex cofassus grows 20-40 m tall (Figure 7.6, right). It has a grey trunk, with a bole up to 18 m long and buttresses up to 6 m high. The wood is smooth, white and durable (Peekel 1984:480, Conn & Damas 2006). At least, this is how specimens of Vitex cofassus in the Bismarcks are described. For the Solomons Henderson & Hancock (1988: 188) describe it as a ‘large, ill-formed tree’, apparently because its buttresses often extend up the bole as irregular flanges and flutings.

A virtue of the hard wood is that it is not eaten by termites (Blewett & Blewett n.d.). In the Bismarck Archipelago it is used for tool handles, and in both the Bismarcks and the Solomons as timber for wall planking, house posts, canoe paddles and canoes, drums and for carving (Powell 1976, Henderson & Hancock 1988: 190, Hviding 2005: 150, Scales n.d.).

The POc term for Vitex cofassus was *pasa(r,R).¹⁷ Milke (1961: 171) reconstructed an unglossed POc *pasa on the basis of the Arosi, Sa’a, Bauan Fijian and Samoan items below, together with Gedaged safa ‘Cerbera manghas’. He assumes that the latter represents a metathesis, but, given the difference between the two species, this is an ad hoc assumption, and the Gedaged item is omitted here.

Riwo and Takia reflect Proto Bel *payaRi. The presence of the final consonant and added -i points to a loan. Babatana vadaka is also evidently a loan from an unknown source.

POc		*pasa(r,R)	‘Vitex cofassus’ (Milke 1961: *pasa)
NNG	Manam	oara	‘Vitex cofassus’
NNG	Yalu	(a)fas	‘Vitex cofassus’ (Lane-Poole 1925)
MM	Nakanai	vasa	‘Vitex cofassus’
MM	East Kara	fasei	‘Vitex cofassus’
MM	Lihir	pacere	‘Vitex cofassus’ (Burley 2006)
MM	Madak	pasa	‘Vitex cofassus’
MM	Patpatar	vasara	‘Vitex cofassus’
MM	Tolai	vara	‘Vitex monophylla’
MM	Mono-Alu	hasala	‘Vitex cofassus’ (Record 1945)
MM	Nduke	vasara	‘Vitex cofassus’
MM	Marovo	vasara	‘Vitex cofassus’
MM	Kia	varaha	‘Vitex cofassus’ (metathesis; W. McClatchey, pers. comm.)
MM	Maringe	vahara	‘Vitex cofassus’ (Henderson and Hancock 1988)
SES	Bugotu	vaha	‘Vitex cofassus’ (W. McClatchey, pers. comm.)
SES	Gela	vaha	‘Vitex cofassus’ (W. McClatchey, pers. comm.)
SES	Lengo	vaða	‘Vitex cofassus’ (Henderson and Hancock 1988)
SES	Longgu	vata	‘Vitex cofassus’
SES	Lau	fata	‘Vitex cofassus’
SES	Kwara’ae	fata	‘Vitex cofassus’
SES	Arosi	hata	‘a large tree sp.’
SES	Sa’a	hata	‘hardwood tree’
Fij	Bauan	vasa	‘Cerbera odollam’
Pn	Samoan	fasa	‘a pandanus species, the leaves of which are used to make mats’ (W. McClatchey, pers. comm.); ‘Pandanus textorius’ (Whistler 2000: 163)

cf. also:

NNG	Riwo	paiaɬi	‘tree with very hard and durable wood’(Mager 1952)
NNG	Takia	peari	‘tree with very hard and durable wood’(Mager 1952)
MM	Babatana	vadaka	‘Vitex cofassus’(McClatchey et al. 2005)

5. The lower canopy⇫

Trees of the lower canopy are assumed to be those with a usual height somewhere between 15 m and 20 m. Again some species display significant height variations and, as noted in the subsections below, are canopy trees in some localities. Conversely, of course, some of the trees described in §4 as canopy trees grow less well in some places and there belong to the lower canopy.

Certain sub-canopy species are treated in other chapters. The barringtonias Barringtonia asiatica, Barringtonia novae-hiberniae and Barringtonia procera are handled in ch.5, §5.2 because of the strong tendency for them to grow on the coast. They are an important part of the lower canopy of the rain forest in parts of Bougainville, however. Other sub-canopy plants, especially in parts of Bougainville and the Solomons, are the betelnut palm, Areca catechu (ch.13, §2.2.1), tree ferns of the genus Cyathea (ch.10, §3.1), fruit trees of the genera Pandanus and Syzygium (ch.ll, §2.5 and §3 .7) (Paijmans 1976:64–65, Mueller-Dombois & Fosberg 1998: 60–61).

No reconstruction could be made for any of the species of Celtis, which are lower canopy trees in the Solomons (Kwa’ioloa & Burt 2001: 157-158), nor for Gnetum latifolium, a large woody climber of Bougainville and the Solomons.

5.1. Bischofia javanica, Java cedar, B nakoka, redwud (Phyllanthaceae)⇫

Occurring throughout the Pacific, Bischofia javanica (Figure 7.7, left) is often a 30–40 m canopy tree with a bole a metre in diameter in the New Guinea region, but is usually a smaller, sub-canopy tree in Vanuatu. Its wood varies from red with red sap to pink or cream with colourless sap. It has light yellowish green flowers and red or black ovoid fruit half a centimetre in diameter, each with six small seeds (Johns 1976:223, Wheatley 1992: 55).

Its occurrence is evidently very patchy. The fact that names for Bischofia javanica have been collected in NW Island Melanesia from Nakanai, Tolai, Roviana and Lau indicates that this species is also found in the locations of these languages, and this is confirmed by Conn & Damas (2006), yet Peekel (1984), Henderson & Hancock (1988), Kwa’ioloa & Burt (2001) and Hviding (2005) make no mention of it, suggesting that in some places it is far from abundant.

Will McClatchey (pers. comm.) offers an explanation of the distribution of Bischofia javanica, commenting that ‘It seems to be in places where they traditionally make clothing from felted bark and not in places where the clothing is made from other sorts of materials. It is of course one of the principal dyes for felted Broussonetia.’

The wood is hard and moderately durable and is used in Vanuatu and Tonga for ground posts (Whistler 1991b: 58, Wheatley 1992: 55)

The PEOc term *koka is reconstructable. The lack of a POc term may simply be due to its absence from a number of sources listing Western Oceanic plant names, i.e. to its odd distribution, rather than to an absence from the environment of POc speakers.