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NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS 



undergrowth is luxuriant. The ground 

 is in many places covered with fallen, 

 partially decayed tree trunks overgrown 

 with mosses, lichens and liverworts. 

 Ferns and large-leaved herbs are com- 

 mon. This zone is composed largely of 

 evergreens. The large trees are mostly 

 evergreen conifers, the number of decid- 

 uous trees being relatively small. 

 Broad-leaved evergreens are common. 

 The madrona (Arbutus menziesii) is a 

 tree. Among the shrubs are salal, two 

 species of Oregon grape (Berberis nervosa 

 and B. aquifolium), the sticky balm 

 (Ceanothus velutinus), the rhododendron 

 (Rhododendron calif ornicum) , a manza- 

 nita and Kinnikinnick (A. uva-ursi}. 

 Many herbs such as wild ginger (Asarum 

 caudatum) and others remain green all 

 winter. 



B. Animals. 1 The notable mammals 

 are the shrews (Sorex trowbridgii) , Ben- 

 dire water shrew (Neosorex bendirii), 

 black bear, bob-cat, deer-mouse, chip- 

 munk (Eutamias townsendii), Douglas 

 squirrel, silver-gray squirrel (Sciurus 

 griseus), flying-squirrel (Glaucomys sa- 

 brinus oregonensis) , sewellel (Aplodontia 

 rufa), Washington hare (Lepus washing- 

 tonii), black-tailed deer, and wolf 

 (Cam's gig as}. L. R. D. 



In this forest salamanders abound 

 (Triturus torosus, Ambystoma macrodac- 

 tylum, A. paroticum, Dicamptodon ensa- 

 tus, Rhyacolriton olympicus, Plethodon 

 intermedius , P. vandykei, and Ensatina 

 eschscholtzii) and the tree-frog (Hyla re- 

 gilla.) The two frogs, Rana aurora and 

 R. pretiosa, are common, as also is the 

 western toad. The discoglossoid toad 

 (Ascaphus truei) is numerous locally in 

 streams. Of snakes the garter-snakes 

 (Thamnophis sirtalis concinnus and T. o. 

 ordinoides) are common; the lizard 

 (Gerrhonolus principis) is fairly numer- 

 ous, especially in clearings. 



Seven rather distinct associations are 

 obvious in this area. 



a. Uplands, characterized by salal, 

 Oregon grape (Berberis nervosa), the 

 Scouler willow (Salix scouleriana) , red 

 huckle berry (Vaccinium parvifolium) , 

 thimble berry (Rubus parviflorus), red- 

 flowered currant (Ribes sanguineum), 



sword fern and bracken fern (Pteris 

 aquiliana) . 



b. Bottom lands in which are found 

 grand fir broadleaf maple, Oregon ash 

 (Fraxinus oregona), cotton wood (Populus 

 trichocarpa) , western dogwood (Cornus 

 occidentalism, crab apple (Pyrus rivu- 

 Zan's), vine maple, devil's club (Fatsia 

 horrida), salmon berry and red-berried 

 elder (Sambucus callicarpa) . 



c. Gravelly prairies (see also Oregon 

 account) on which are found scattered 

 oaks (Quercus garryana) mixed with 

 Douglas fir at the borders of the areas. 

 Western yellow pine is also found. 

 These areas are found between Tacoma 

 and Olympia and southward. In spring 

 and early summer they are carpeted with 

 flowers among which are violets, lupines, 

 dog-tooth violet (Erythroniumgiganteum) 

 shooting star (Dodecatheon latifolium) , 

 and many others. In late summer these 

 areas are dry and appear very barren. 



d. Sphagnum bogs, whose surface is 

 composed mainly of living sphagnum, 

 which is underlaid with soft, partially 

 decayed organic matter. They occur in 

 undrained places frequently bordering 

 swamps or lakes. Their most charac- 

 teristic flora is Labrador tea, swamp 

 laurel (Kalmia polifolia), cranberry 

 (Vaccinum) sundew (Drosera rotundi- 



folid) and cotton grass (Eriophorum 

 russeolum). Sweet gale is common on 

 the borders of these bogs in the interior, 

 and the wax myrtle (Myrica californica) 

 is found around those near the coast. 

 Dwarf birch (Betula glandulosa) also 

 occurs around these bogs in the vicinity 

 of Seattle and elsewhere. The bunch- 

 berry and crow-berry are found in some. 

 In the later stages of succession these 

 bogs are invaded by trees, usually 

 stunted. The western hemlock is usu- 

 ally the first invader and grows best in 

 them, though almost pure stands of 

 western white pine or of lodgepole 

 pine are found in some. Cedar is com- 

 mon. Douglas fir invades these bogs 

 last and grows most poorly in them. 

 Deciduous trees are rare in these bogs, 

 though the aspen (Populus tremuloides), 

 the crab apple (Pyrus rivularis) and some 

 willows are common in the very wet 



