Additional Information About Coastal Areas

Coastal vegetation growing near the ocean on open, sandy (ioon bok) and rocky (ijoko redekāke) shores is referred to by scientists as the littoral vegetation (litoralis = shore in Latin). The plants that are found in the coastal vegetation can be divided into several distinctive types of littoral plant communities. These include the following:

1. Herbaceous Strand or non-woody vegetation located above the high tide mark on both sandy and rocky shores. Extensive areas are found along beaches of sand and coral rubble. Typical herbs in the strand include atat (Triumfetta procumbens) and markinenjojo (Vigna marina).

2. Littoral Shrub land located on the seaward edges of coastal forests. The usual dominant plants of this community are kōņņat (Scaevola sericea) and kiden (Tournefortia argentea).

3. Pandanus (Edwaan) Scrub located on some rocky, often exposed, windswept shores. As indicated in its name, this community is dominated by Pandanus tectorius plants, also known as "screwpines" because of the strange, twisted growth of the terminal leaf clusters.

4. Littoral Forest is the most common kind of vegetation found along tropical shores, including the Marshall Islands. It is usually dense and is sometimes dominated by a single tree species. Common trees in this community include kōņo (Cordia subcordata), utilomar (Guettarda speciosa), wōp (Barringtonia asiatica), lukwej or jijo (Calophyllum inophyllum), and piñpiñ (Hernandia sonora).

Coastal Areas

Vegetation Zones