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NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS 



Tree ferns belonging to the genus 

 Cyathea are conspicuous in the Rain 

 Forest, and these become more numer- 

 ous as the summit is approached. Tree 

 erns require a very moist environment, 

 and their presence serves as the most 

 obvious indication of the transition from 

 the High to the rain-forest vegetation on 

 this mountain. A tall palm with divided 

 leaves, Pinanga insignis Becc., and a 

 species with slender stems, Pinanga 

 barnesii Becc., and fan leaf palms, 

 called by the natives "Anahao," Livis- 

 tona sp., form prominent components of 

 the vegetation in this zone. 



Among the vines the climbing pandans 

 (Freycinetia spp.) are very conspicuous 

 in many parts of this forest; also rattans 

 (Calamus spp. and Daemonorops spp., 

 bejuco or uway), climbing bamboos 

 (Schizostachyum spp.), and aroids es- 

 pecially a large-leaved Rhaphidophora. 

 Long, rope-like, dicotyledonous climb- 

 ers, which occur so abundantly in the 

 High Forest, are less numerous in the 

 Rain Forest, though they form a notice- 

 able component. Begonia aequata A. 

 Gray, a dainty little creeping vine, with 

 pink flowers, is quite common. 



The floor of the forest is covered with 

 various herbs, especially Elatostema spp., 

 and shrubby plants, of which Hedyotis 

 and Strobilanthes pluriformis C. B. 

 Clarke are prominent; and rattans and 

 ferns also occur abundantly in the 

 ground cover. Along the ridges, the 

 rattans form an extremely dense growth 

 at a height of from one to two meters 

 above the ground. Tn e 7 have leaves 

 that bear long, whip-like structures 

 covered with recurved spines; these 

 make it difficult to walk through the 

 forest. 



Epiphytes seem to be more numerous 

 in the Rain Forest than in the High 

 Forest. Among those found abundantly 

 are epiphytic vines, orchids and ferns. 

 The showy, pin-flowered Medinilla 

 magnifica Lindl. is found here and also 

 in the Mossy Forest, though not in the 

 High Forest. Specimens of Nepen- 

 thes, the pitcher plant, may also be 

 found growing here, though they are 

 scarce along the trail. It is interesting 

 to note that epiphytic Bromeliacea, 

 which are prominent in tropical America, 

 do not occur in the Indo-Malayan 

 region. 



MOSSY FOREST 



The trees and large shrubs that form 

 the canopy of the Mossy Forest may be 

 regarded as forming a single story. 

 The larger specimens of trees have a 

 height of about 12 meters; but in many 

 places the forest is considerably lower 



than this. Among the prominent trees 

 are Clethra lancifolia Turcz., Itea maesae- 

 folia Elm., Symplocos sp., Rapanea 

 philippinensis Mez., Dillenia reiffer- 

 scheidia F. Vill., Neolitsea villosa Merr., 

 Homolanthus, and Eurya japonica. 

 Amon tbp common shrubby plants may 

 be mentioned Strobilanthus pluriformis 

 C. B. Clarke ; Melastoma polyanthum Bl., 

 Medinilla myriantha, V actinium spp. 

 and Rubus fraxinifolius Poir. Large 

 specimens of tree ferns, Cyathea spp., 

 are conspicuous in the Mossy Forest. 



Vines are in this zone but do not ap- 

 pear to be so numerous as in the Rain 

 Forest and in the High Forest. One of 

 the conspicuous vines is Hoya odorata 

 Schlt., which has waxy white flowers 

 that are very fragrant. Medinilla mag- 

 nifica Lindl. is abundant in the lower 

 part of this forest. It is an epiphytic 

 shrubby vine with broad shining leaves 

 and pendulous pyramidal clusters of 

 rose-pink flowers. Other vines that oc- 

 cur are Trichosporum philippinensis O. 

 Ktze., Conocephalus sp., Dichrotrichum 

 chorisepalum Clarke, Medinilla myrti- 

 formis Triana., Alyxia monilifera Vid., 

 and the fern, Oleandra colubrina, Copel. 

 Two large sprawling ferns, Gleichenia 

 and Pteridium are rather common. 

 Ficus repens, common in moist places at 

 lower elevations, is also found here. 

 Epiphytic mosses and liverworts, which 

 form dense growths on the trunks of 

 most of the trees, aid in distinguishing 

 this forest from the two'at_lower alti- 

 tudes. 



Many forms of mosses, liverworts and 

 lichens cover the smaller branches of 

 the trees, and several kinds of these 

 plants grow on the surfaces of the leaves. 

 About 15 species of filmy ferns, Hymeno- 

 phyllaceae, are found growing in fair 

 abundance on the^trunks of trees ; these 

 also occur in the upper part of the 

 rain-forest, but more sparingly; their 

 leaves are often covered with moisture. 

 Nepenthes, the pitcher plant is found as 

 an epiphyte in the Mossy Forest as well 

 as in the rain-forest. Several species of 

 Begonia are found here ; among these are 

 Begonia aequata A. Gray, Begonia 

 lagunensis Elm. and Begonia oxysperma 

 with large clusters of coral-red flowers. 

 Epiphytic species of Rhododendron 

 also occur here. The soil in the Mossy 

 Forest is covered principally with vari- 

 ous species of dicotyledonous herbs, 

 including Coleus multiflorus Benth. and 

 species of Elatostema, and Hedyotis. 

 Hymenophyllaceae and several other 

 kinds of ferns, Selaginella, Lycopodium, 

 and a few species of beautiful orchids 

 also occur. 



Among the most striking members of 



