Dying coconut palms were found wherever coconut trees were
found but again with greater frequency at the northern islands.
Tapering stem or “pencil point" was observed wherever there
were coconuts but most notably at Eniaetok and the northern
islands
(Eniaetok is about midway on the island chain in a north-
south line).
Dead or partially dead Suriana,
Guettarda,
Scaevola,
Messer-
schmidia,
and pemphis were notably more prevalent at the northern
islands.
However,
apparently typical plants were also growing
nearby.
A strikingly aberrant plant of Messerschmidia was found on a
sand spit at Lomvilal Island.
with a few small,
The plant was largely defoliate
chlorotic terminal leaves.
In general the vegetation at the northern islands was in poorer
condition than along the eastern chain and in the south.
The
northern islands received about ten times the amount of fallout as
the southern islands.
It is tempting therefore to attribute the dif-
ferences in the plants to radiation effects.
While it is probable
(2922008
that there have been some radiation effects it also seems probable
that other factors have had perhaps a greater effect.
The best soils of the northern islands are much less well developed than in other parts of the Atoll.
For example,
the average
per cent nitrogen in the best soil type in the northern islands is
0.26 while it is 0.57 and 1.71 in the prevalent soils of other islands.