-39- AECD~-3446 - ‘iting and decapitating was done by the mechanical force of the shock wave. Thia ae “yas enough to kill most of the trees and smaller plants, but the extreme heat and e*padiation doubtless had their destructive effect too. The observer found no means e asseparating these different factors. - ‘prnsstine EFFECTS .. From the bombing, the soil and rocks in affected areas becameradioactive, FeOther observers have recorded the kind and the decreasing amounts of this radiaHaig:The bombing certainly destroyed all growing plants above ground within a redlus of 200 or 300 yards. That it killed all seeds, sprouts, roots in the soil _ .‘gfnearly all species is equally evident. On all three islands a circular area, cen- tee:on the bomb tower and extending 200 yards, suffered almost complete ex- termination of the flora. In these circles in August, 1949, there were only two “species of living plants. On Aomon and Runit there was only one, Portulaca _“dhéracen, On Engebi there were two, Chloris inflata and Portulaca oleracea, hence wesQ. “o: -Though making active growth, these two species are annuals and have cer7 tathly¢grown up since the bombing and not survived it on the ground surface. giss,‘Chloris inflata (see Figure l)was nearestto the center on Engebi. a » oS The Though derewere healthy, normalplants of it, there were also many abnormal plants with the stems flattened, shortened, and with a spiral torsion that made them lie 2ground like flattened spirals. These mutants were perhaps fertile. The “pitslane, Portulaca oleracea, (see Figure 2) was present in the inner circle on yea the only one existing on Aomon and Runit. Oecycle from seedlings to maturity. The plants grew throughout The seeds of the two species may have isfy theymust have survived in a spot quitenearby. se Hk The‘Portulaca g ; rew intr UNHES be aanty. 25 36