76 Postelsia 
region under discussion. Not only are dead 
logs, branches, the lower portion of trees ete. 
covered with a layer of the bryophytic types, 
but frequently large masses of moss perch high 
up towards the tops of trees (Pl. VIII.) or hang 
in long festoons from the branches. The forest 
floor is carpeted in most places with a layer of 
Marchantias, Jungermannias and allied forms. 
The great amount of moisture however makes 
it possible for plants higher in the scale of devel- 
opment than Bryophytes to adopt the epiphytic 
mode of life. A characteristic epiphyte of the 
region is Polypodium falcatum. ‘This fern is 
almost invariably found growing upon the stems 
and lower branches of Alnus oregana, in the 
mossy covering of which the creeping rhizomes 
find anchorage. Other ferns like Polystichum 
munitum and Lomaria spicant are occasionally 
found upon moss covered branches of large trees 
and in the old “‘Hexenbesen”’ of the hemlock. Not 
infrequently one finds Vaccintums and Menzies- 
ias flourishing high up in some giant cedar or 
spruce (Pl. IX.), the demands for nourishment 
of these small shrubs not being greater than the 
