FLORA OF THE MOUNTAIN. 213 



Within the Tropics or Zone of Multiform Trees a bound- 

 less exuberance of vegetative force, with endless diversity of 

 structure, prevails. Rich and varied in color of inflorescence 

 and foliage, the forests of the equatorial regions are masses of 

 life and light. The closely-packed trunks of an extensive 

 variety of eccentric and beautifully-formed trees are chained 

 into continuities of woods by interwoven masses, or net- 

 works of vines, which knot and rope the whole together, 

 while their bodies, branches, and leaves are alive with 

 parasitic plants clinging to their surfaces, or trailing in 

 pendant festoons from stem to stem. From the disposi- 

 tion of the leaves, and whole style and character of the 

 foliage, a ghastly light permeates every recess of these 

 forests, which are also filled with a corresponding multitude 

 of animal forms, revelling in the heat and glare which con- 

 stitute the horrors of the woods of the tropics. With this 

 light and splendor, this flaunting array of fantastic figures 

 and brilliant coloring, the forests of the temperate zone pre- 

 sent a most entire and perfect contrast. Leaving the bril- 

 liant but noxious display of the vegetation of the torrid 

 spaces, the change to the cool recesses of the mixed woods 

 of the temperate climates is one of the most striking phe- 

 nomena of Nature. These forests are composed principally 

 of deciduous trees, as the oak, beech, chestnut, maple, etc., 

 with smaller trees mixed, and sometimes with different species 

 of the coniferas. They have frequently a bush-underwood or 

 heath-growth beneath the larger trees, which is composed of 

 a number of interesting plants, but presents nothing like the 

 labyrinth of vines and smaller shrubs that fill the inter- 

 spaces of the forests of hot climates. This is explained by 

 the deeply-shading foliage of these woods obstructing the 

 light from their recesses, so that few plants can grow be- 

 neath them for want of heat and light, the great life-elements 

 of the tropics. With markedly distinguished features, this 

 zone of plants is widely separated both from the belt of 

 " rigid-leaved," the multiform, and the woods of the exclu- 

 sive coniferee. It contains some of the most imposing and 



