-14-
Recovery of the plants was rapid.
on the third day.
length,
On the
were observed on
eighth day green buds,
the
schmidia (Fig. 5a) plants.
5b)
stems of
1-3 mm in
Scaevola and Messer-
On the thirty-fifth day the shoot
leaves were 7 to 15 cm long,
(Fig.
Heavy rains occurred
covering much of the old stems
and giving the plants a green and healthy appearance.
By this time many of the other plants had formed new leaves and
three species
(Portulaca,
Triumfetta,
produced new flowers and fruits.
scorched appearance;
and Messerschmidia)
had
The island now had lost its
from the air it looked green rather than
brown as it had one month earlier.
In August,
three months
were growing well
(Fig.
6)
after
the detonation,
and some species,
the plants
such as Boerhaavia
had produced new flowers.
The leaves of most of the species
had grown to maximum size,
and the branches had grown almost to
the pre-Nectar dimensions.
This was not the case with the
Guettarda and Lepturus plants,
the other species.
1216)
which recovered more slowly than
The new growth on the Guettarda plant
consisted of ten small leaves which originated from a new
shoot 18 cm tall at the base of the old plant;
plant
(No.
(No.
1410)
was
the Lepturus
a mat of dead tops with some new growth
forming at the periphery.