THE SOUTH TEMPERATE ZONE 56 



On the coast the rainfall becomes very heavy. Valdivia, lat. 

 40°, has 100 inches annually, almost the same as on the coast of 

 California in the same latitude north, and the heavy rain-forei 

 of central Chile have their counterpart in the magnificent conif- 

 erous forests of northern California, Oregon and Washington. 

 In both regions the climate is a cool and uniform one, which with 

 the abundant moisture results in evergreen forests of the great- 

 luxuriance. 



The constituents of these forests in Chile and North America, 

 however, are very different. While the northern forests are com- 

 posed almost exclusively of conifers — redwood, spruce, fir, hemlock 

 and cedar, etc., these play a very subordinate role in the Chilean 

 coastal forest, where the prevailing trees are beeches and other 

 broad-leaved evergreens, quite wanting in the northern forests. 

 Among the most characteristic of these are the following -Drimys 

 Winteri (Magnoliaceae), Laurelia aromatica (Monimiaceae), Myr- 

 tus luma, Aextoxicum punctatum (Euphorbiaceae), Flotowia 

 diacanthoides (Compositae), Weinmannia trichosperma (Cunonia- 

 ceae), Cryptocarya peumus (Lauraceae). Species of Laurelia and 

 Weinmannia are both important trees of New Zealand. Only 

 a single conifer, Podocarpus Chilensis, is found in this forest, and 

 this is not a dominant tree. Among the shrubs are species of 

 Griselinea (Cornaceae), Lomatia and Embothrium (Proteaceae) ; 

 Escallonia (Saxifragaceae) ; the latter with handsome glossy foliage 

 and pretty white, pink or crimson flowers, often cultivated in 

 California and other warm temperate regions. Fuchsias are also 

 frequent, as well as evergreen barberries, myrtles, and the less 

 familiar Baccharis, Aristotelia (Tiliaceae), and Pseudopanax. 

 The two latter, with Fuchsia and Griselinia, are characteristic 

 genera of New Zealand. 



These cool rain-forests abound in mosses, liverworts and ferns. 

 among the latter a tree-fern (Alsopkila pruinata), and epiphytes 

 abound, among which the filmy ferns are notable. 



Climbing plants are abundant including a scarlet nasturtium 

 (Tropoeolum speciosum) and a beautiful climbing lily (Lapagma 

 rosea), both occasionally seen in cultivation. Wild yams (Dios- 

 corea), a vine, Cissus striata, and a number of less familiar genera 

 occur/and several parasites of the mistletoe family arc common. 

 Within the dark forest flowers arc scarce, but in clearings, and 



