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| Birnie With its area of only about 0,2 kmē, Birnie is by far the smallest island in the Phoenix group. It is a makatea island, therefore a raised coral island. In the east part lies a bipartite lagoon, not much more than a salty pool, which probably dries out seasonally. Although Birnie is home for large seabird colonies as well, the guano was never mined here. Consequently the island escaped the destruction, which shaped so many islands in the Pacific Ocean until today. The vegetation is very poor in species, two of the species which are mentioned here, seem to have been disappeared from the island now. |
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| above: Photo: JoAnn Schwartz; by courtesy of JoAnn Schwartz http://www.flickr.com/photos/72923065@N00 |
| Flora of Birnie (almost complete) (green = pictures) Boerhavia albiflora, Cordia subcordata, Digitaria pacifica, Portulaca lutea, Sesuvium portulacastrum, Sida fallax |
| References: - David R. Stoddart; F. Raymond Fosberg: Flora of the Phoenix Islands, Central Pacific. Smithsonian Institution, Washington. Atoll Res. Bull. 393: 1-60. 1994 - R. J. Pierce; T. Etei; V. Kerr; E. Saul; A. Teatata; M. Thorsen; G. Wragg: Phoenix Islands Conservation Survey and Assessment of restoration feasibility: Kiribati. Pacific Invasives Initiative, CEPF and Conservation International, Samoa. 2006 |