THK FOUKSTS. 



9. r 



smaller trees a.ncl tallest shrubs the second ; smaller shrubs. tree- 

 ferns, and juvenile tribes the third; and finally comes the forest-floor, 

 with its carpet of mosses, liverworts, and filmy ferns, through which 

 lirow the smaller ferns and herbs. A most important feature of the 

 forests is afforded bv the. climbing-plants, or lianes, as they are often 

 called, which, rope-like, hang from the tree-tops, form an impene- 

 trable tangle, or gracefully entwine the smaller trees and shrubs. 



Tree-ferns, sometimes 1^0 ft. or 30 ft. in height, with enormous 

 feathery leaves like giant umbrellas, frequently occur, often in groups 



FIG. 8. Lichens growing on the trunk of the Kamahi (Weimnauitix ntcemosa}. 



Forest of Milford Sound. 



I'lioto, L. Cockayne. 



and groves. Close-growing, small-leaved shrubs of dense habit form 

 thickets. On tree-fern stems, on fallen trees, and even on the forest- 

 floor are sheets of delicate filmy ferns. Lichens of great size, white or 

 golden or dusky, abound (fig. 8). Perched high up in the forest-roof, 

 in the forks of the branches are bird-nest-like masses, several feet in 

 circumference, of a plant of the lily family (kahakaha, Astelia Solandri) 

 (fig. 9). Long fronds of ferns and lycopods several feet in length hang 

 drooping from the boughs, and certain orchids, with aerial roots, and 



