The Palmyra Atoll was annexed into the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1862 and was briefly claimed by the United Kingdom in 1889. When Hawaii was admitted to the Union in 1959, the Palmyra Atoll was not reattached to Hawaii; it became an unincorporated territory held by the United States.
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Pisonia grandis - The bird-catcher tree is an evergreen species in the Bougainvillea family, Nyctaginaceae, and can be found throughout the islands and coastal regions of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Growing to heights of 80 meters, it is the tallest tree growing in Palmyra. The greenish-white flowers bloom between July and August and produce sticky seeds. Small birds, as the tree’s name implies, are sometimes trapped by these seeds, but larger birds carry the seeds attached to their feathers as a means of dispersal.
