Cocos. On the northwest peninsula north of the channel many trees of Pandanus were found along with excavated taro pits some of which were l m. deep. Little humus was found in the bottom and some of the weedy grasses and Fimbristylis had colonized these relatively mesic sites. Many of the pits were dry. The following seem to be naturalizing under the Cocos groves: Cenchrus echinatus and Portulaca oleracea. Digitaria is found along the overgrown paths along the north and south sides. On the lagoon side of the southwest island and the northwest hook are wide mud flats. On the southwest these flats are rimmed with Scaevola - Tournefortia and clumps of Lepturus in occasional sandy areas. On the northwest flat is found a mat of Sesuvium. The same type of mat is found at the edge of the small bay which penetrates the northwest peninsula. These filled areas are slowly being built up with reef mud and debris deposited by the flow of water through the west channel from the opening on the south. Sesuvium probably accelerates the process by the addition of humus to the parent material. No Sesuvium is found on the flat on the southwest due to the almost entire covering of that area at high tide. The lagoon near the village has a growth of Turbinaria in the soft mud. The soils of Gardner Island are very young judging from the weak profiles. Coral sand and rubble are never more than .5 m. from the surface layers which are usually thin, sandy soils with humus and thin litter layers. The thickest soils were found under the scattered Pisonia trees. The litter layer was thick in such areas but no evidence of the formation of a phosphatized hardpan was seen. The grove on the northwest was not investigated. The Cocos groves had thin soils with dark humus found between and under coral rubble on the surface. Only a few Red-footed Boobies were seen in the Pisonia trees. The east half of both the north and south rims are often bare coralline hardpan. Euphorbia cyathophora was naturalized on the south side in open areas dominated by Boerhavia and Sida. Only one patch of Tribulus was found on a flat, elevated coralline hardpan just above the lagoon on the north side. At the extreme east end of the island is a saline pool surrounded with wave deposited coral gravel covered with Scaevola - Tournefortia scrub. This probably indicates a recent closure of the lagoon on the eastern end. Ipomoea tuba and Triumfetta procumbens are common there.