~12- plants at Belle Island was rapid. In April 1954 some of the Scaevola and Messerschmidia “trees" were up to five feet height, with a spread of ten feet, fruits. Plants of the in and bore many flowers and other species also were well es- tablished. A photograph of Belle Island taken eight days following the Nectar detonation (Fig. 4b) age sustained by the plants. brown and desolate. shows the extent of the dam- From the air the island looked On closer inspection it was found that most of the plants had been scorched by the heat wave and many of them had been blown over or broken by the shock blast. Two of the previously tagged plants (Cocos and Portulaca) had disappeared or had been dislodged from their original positions; other plants of these species were staked and labelled for study. On the tall shrubs, Guettarda, such as Scaevola, Messerschmidia and the leaves were usually gone or scorched, and the scorched branches and a few persistent leaves were all that remained of the plants. plants, (No. Flowers and fruits were found on some especially in the prostrate plants such as Portulaca 1211), which was located behind a large fallen coconut trunk. Close-ups of examples of damaged plants eight days post Nectar are shown in the foreground of Figures 4b and Sa.