38 



THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 





i'^a 



Tkee Kekns at Bottom of a Valley. 



trees are Manitluis and Dinuicds, with Neplirodiniiis and Aspleiiiums of 

 many varieties. Gleiclwnias and Davallias fringe the trails, while 

 Lomarias, Trichomames and Pohjpodiums twine about the tree trunks 

 and epiphytic Acrostichums, Elaplioglossums, Polijpodiums and Lyco- 

 podiums settle on the stems or branches of Cyathea and other trees. 

 The beautifully delicate HynienophyUuin and Trichomanes form- thick 

 carpets over damp cliffs, and over living or dead trunks. Even high up 

 on trunks or branches they may form dense tufts or lace-like curtains. 

 These filmy ferns here take the place, in part, of the mosses of our north- 

 ern forests, on soil, rock and trunk. But the mosses themselves are here 

 also to war with their competitors for standing ground and sunlight. 

 Mingled with Collema and other lichens, the mosses form spongy tufts 



