The vegetation of Enderbury Island is typical of the very dry atoll flora found in the central Pacific. Among the native plants are found Eragrostis whitneyi and Sesuvium portulacastrum var. griseum both of which are taxa endemic to low island atolls of the Pacific. Both of these species and Lepturus repens, the common bunchgrass, cover large areas on the inner flats or slopes and beach crest. The Lepturus is found commonly in the sandy peripheral regions and inner slopes while the Eragrostis is confined to low guano emptied areas on the NE, S and on the drier portions or elevated "islets" of the large central lagoon. Many such sites support tall clumps of this small grass but more often the clumps are very short. This probably results from periodic inundation of low areas in the central portion of the island during occasional heavy rain or high tides. Eragrostis apparently cannot stand inundation as can Sesuvium with which it is often associated. The introduced Digitaria pacifica is scattered along the inner slopes along the west side. First collected by Marshall in days of guano mining. 1964 it may have been introduced as early as the mining of guano Other native herbs such as Portulaca lutea, Boerhavia repens, Triumfetta procumbens, Cordia subcordata, Tournefortia argentea, Cassytha filiformis and Sida fallax are common although only the first two are abundant and found over most of the area of the island. The Triumfetta is restricted to sandy slopes on the NW side. The shrubby Tournefortia and Cordia form small groves, mixed and pure on the W and S sides. Sesuvium is common along the edges of the lagoon and in open flats, areas where guano soils have been removed and the elevation of the soils decreased so that the under subsurface soils are constantly moist - often with Eragrostis. This succulent plant is apparently one of the few known endemic plants found on coral atolls. Cassytha was found on the west side of the island parasitizing Sida and Portulaca lutea. Among the introduced plants Euphorbia hirta was found near the wooden structure on the SW side; Fleurya ruderalis and Ipomea tuba are rare. The former was growing on a pile of guano soil near the old guano workings and the latter at the edge of the lagoon on coralline hardpan. The climate or restricted holding capacity of the fresh water lense probably accounts for the failure of Cocos, the remains of a number of which were found in three depressions on the N and S sides of the island, areas left apparently between deposition of coral rubble by high wave action.