182 



George E. Nichols, 



Woody iindcrgrozvth in the climax forest. — Two small trees, 

 the mountain maple {Acer spicatum) and the moosewood {Acer 

 peymsylvanicum) , are usually conspicuous in the undergrowth. 

 The latter species sometimes attains a diameter of nearly a foot, 

 but, in the forest, both are usually little more than shrubs. The 

 mountain ash {Pyriis americana) is not infrequent, but is more 

 characteristic of the evergreen coniferous climax forest of the 



Figure 12. — Primeval forest of the regional climax type, at Tarbet, along 

 the Barrasois ; mostly beech, maple, and yellow birch ; balsam fir 

 abundant in undergrowth but absent from mature stand. 



hig-hland. Of the shrubs, the yew {Taxus canadensis) is the 

 most characteristic species : usually this is common, and fre- 

 quently it forms a dense tangle which excludes other plants in 

 much the same way that the mountain laurel {Kalniia latifolia) 

 does in the woods of southern New England. Sometimes, how- 

 ever, the yew is entirely absent over considerable areas. The 

 northern hazel-nut {Corylus rostrata) occupies a position in the 

 forest here somewhat parallel to that held by the witch hazel 

 in woods farther south. A few other shrubs are ordinarily 

 represented by scattered specimens, namely: fly honeysuckle 



