16
RADIOLOGICAL CLEANUP OF ENEWETAK ATOLL
addition, there are seven species known only bv drifted seeds on the
beaches. !!
The most numerous of the larger native plants, other than coconuts,
were Scaevola and Messerschmidia (Figures |-20 and 1-21), the first
classified as a large shrub and the second as a tree. Scaevola was the most
abundant shrub, especially near the shore. [ts leaves had some medicina!|
value. Messerschmidia is a small tree with edible leaves. The reported
maximum height of both plants was 20 feet. The less common Pisonia
grew to heights of 35 to 40 feet. These plants were to exert considerable
influence on the effort required during cleanup. !?
The larger plants of the atoll served primarily as windbreaks and as
nesting places for fish-eating birds. The latter bring to the islands much
needed materials, especially phosphorus, in the form of guano. Smaller
plants, such as the creeping morning glory, act as a binder to hold the sand
eR
in place. '3
FIGURE 1-20. SCAEVOLA PLANT.
Food producing plants which have been cultivated on Enewetakin the
past include coconut, breadfruit and pandanus (Figure |-22 to 1-24).
Coconut also was a cash crop in the form of copra, the dried meat ofthe
coconut. Vegetable and crop plants which have also been grown on the
atoll are tomatoes, chinese cabbage, arrowroot, sorghum, onions and
radishes. Most of these were not native to the islands but had been
imported by German or Japaneseresidents. !4