Tahitian flower by any other name . . .

The thousands of tourists who drive around the coastal road encircling Tahiti come away with the impression that the whole island is a garden. Yet almost all the brilliant blossoms they see are expatriate—brought in over the last couple of hundred years by foreigners. Only the tiare —gardenia tahiensis (rubiaceae) —and the pua —or fragaea tahitensis (loganiaceae), are indigenous to the island.

But whether local or foreign, all have adopted this most romantic island of the Pacific. Tahiti and flowers are now in separable.

Les Editions du Pacifique have now produced a book in full colour that shows and describes each of the plants and flowers that can be seen along any roadway. The scientific name, the Tahitian name and the common names are given, as well as the plant’s original home. Introductory chapters describe how the non-indigenous plants and flowers arrived on the island. A handy book for garden enthusiasts to take with them or for tourists to buy as a souvenir of the garden of Tahiti. (PLANTS AND FLOWERS OF TAHITI; Les Editions du Pacifique: $3.50.)