246 



PLANT EELATIONS. 



made up of trees of different heights, below them are 

 shrubs of varjdng heights, then tall and low herbs, and 

 finally mosses and liverworts. Among these close-set 

 standing forms, great vines or lianas climb and bind the 



Fig. 202. A group of aerial plants (epiphytes) from a tropical forest. Note the vari- 

 ous habits of the epiphytes attached to the tree-trunks, and the dangling roots. — 

 After ScHiMPER. 



standing vegetation into an inextricable tangle (see Figs. 

 55, ;i01). In addition to these, hosts of aerial plants find 

 lodging places upon the tree-trunks and vines (see Fig. 

 202). These rainy forests of the tropics furnish the very 

 best conditions for the development of the numerous epi- 

 phytic orchids, bromelias, etc. In such conditions also 



