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The islands' flora

With its not very deep roots, the coconut tree is present on all the atolls in Polynesia. The aito, the iron tree, resists perfectly to heat and the lack of water near the shores. You also find the purau and the mango tree as well as the uru (the "breadfruit tree" made famous with the Bounty) and the plumeria. The coconut trees, the pandanus (fara), the tamanu and the tropical almond trees are found in the narrow coastal plains in the high islands. The underwoods of the lowest hills are the privileged domain of the guava trees, acacias, maru maru and falcata. The  Gabon tulip tree was imported  by American botanist Harrison Smith who founded the splendid Botanical Garden in Papeari, in Tahiti. The famous tiare (Gardenia Tahitensis), emblem of Tahiti is grown a little everywhere. Each Polynesian family has a few tiare shrubs in the garden, used as daily ornamentation, worn over the ear or in leis or head crowns for celebrations. It is also macerated with coconut oil to make Tahtian monoi, the Vahine's beauty product "par excellence". Among other ornamental flowers, are the hibiscus (aute) found in red, orange or yellow colors and also worn over the ear, the moto'i, a local species of ylang-ylang, and the pitate, a jasmine with spicy fragrance, let us not forget the crotons with various colors, and the sumptuous bougainvillieas,whose color range is infinite. 
 See the Flowers of Tahiti and her Islands album

The land and sea fauna

Polynesian fauna is essentially composed of birds and fishes...

A hundred species of birds: classified in 2 categories, the sea birds and the land birds. The sea birds include Terns, Frigates, White-tailed tropicbirds, Petrels, Puffins and Boobies.   Most of these birds seldom venture far from the shores and feed on fish and crustaceans. Most land birds belong to migrating species. The Kuckoo from New Zealand, the plover, the Alaskan curlew, the knight or the Sanderling sandpiper flock to our islands in August and return to nest in the cold counties of the Northern hemisphere in March. Let us not forget the roosters, introduced by the early Polynesians and found everywhere in the islands, but also ducks, swallows and even some buzards. pigeons and warblers are seen near the shores, while monarchs, Tahitian kingfishers Chattering kingfishers, doves and Tangara, silvereye and warhills (the famous "Vini") prefer the inside of the island. 

There are many species of fishes throughout our islands: No less than a thousand species of fishes populate the lagoons (not to mention mollusks and crustaceans) among which many species of Surgeon fish, Demoiselles, Barbillons, Picasso fish, not to mention groupers and parrot fishes which are abundantly fished. Beyond the reef, in the "Big Blue", you can encounter a great variety of sharks, dolphins, swordfishes (haura), tunas and bonitos, not to mention jackfishes, mahi mahi, rays and, in some islands, tortles, whose capture is strictly prohibited. Near the Austral Islands, you frequently encounter whales, especially between August and November. But it is not unusual to see some around Tahiti. Some rivers are home to eels, especially in the Peninsula and in Huahine, but chevrettes, a local variety of fresh water shrimp is regularly fished there.

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