PAGEANT OF FLOWERING PLANTS 49 



den's Cottage and to the Point it hangs somberly and drifts slowly in the 

 breeze. 



This is not the Spanish moss, like that found in the Southeastern United 

 States. Spanish moss has flowers, and belongs to the pineapple family, so 

 the botanists tell us. The lichens at Point Lobos are not flowering plants; 

 they are composed of a fungus and an alga. 



There is another lichen abundant at the Point — the kind that is seen on 

 the dead twigs and on the rocks. It spreads out in all directions, forming 

 a fuzzy-looking brush, dull olive green to nearly black. Old weathered rocks 

 often owe their color more to lichen than to the rock minerals themselves. 



The trees overlooking the bay have their lower branches covered with a 

 growth of red algae. However, we are assured by scientists that this does 

 no damage, since it appears only on dead twigs and on the bark of the 

 living branches and not on the green leaves. But this alga does add color 

 and so contributes interest and beauty to the groves. 



