12 FLORA OF MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK. 



close of the season. The licorice fern, Polypodium occidentale, 

 grows embedded in moss-covered trees and sometimes on old logs, 

 while the maidenhair fern selects waterfalls and moist cliffs. 



The common brake grows abundantly all through the lower zone 

 and sometimes forms thickets with other vegetation. The western 

 form of the lady fern sends up its tall broad fronds in tufts here 

 and there, generally where there is an abundance of moisture. Some- 

 what resembling the lady fern is Dryopteris spinulosa dilatata, 

 which generally grows in similar localities. The lady fern is smoother 

 than Dryopteris spinulosa dilatata and has kidney-shaped fruit dots 

 on the back of the frond, while the fruit dots on the latter are 

 round. The dainty oak fern, Phegopteris dryopteris, is everywhere 

 present among the moss. It has a dark-colored stem and triangular 

 frond. It is much smaller than the two last mentioned and extends 

 into the higher portions of the park. 



THE SECOND ZONE. 



There can be no sharp line of demarcation separating the first 

 and second zones, yet no one can fail to note the difference in the 

 flora in a few hundred feet of ascent. There is, for instance, a 

 difference between the park entrance and Longmire Springs. The 

 trees as a rule have become smaller except along the border of the 

 low swampy ground adjoining the Longmire property and its con- 

 tinuation up along the Henry Hunting Ground trail. Not only 

 have the trees become smaller, but different species have come in. 

 The white pine, Pinus moiiticola, occasionally seen below, now be- 

 comes common. It can be recognized by its fine silky foliage, 

 its large cones and five needles or leaves in the bunch. On the 

 pines the leaves are never separate as on the firs, but are apparently 

 tied together at the base and inserted into the branch. The bark 

 of the white pine resembles a checkerboard. The black pine has 

 two short leaves together. At Longmire Springs the white and 

 black pines grow side by side. The black pine has dark foliage 

 and numerous small prickly cones about an inch or two in length 

 while the white pine has cones 8 or 10 inches long without spines. 



The common and the Alaska cedars also have a common meeting 

 ground here. The Alaska cedar has globular fruit which distin- 

 guishes it from the white cedar. After a little practice the two 

 species of cedar can be distinguished by their bark and foliage. 

 The wood of the Alaska cedar is yellow with a characteristic odor 

 and becomes hard when dry, in marked contrast to the soft wood 

 of the lowland cedar. In this vicinity the Alaska cedar seldom 

 reaches 3 feet in diameter, though occasionally old fallen logs of far 

 greater diameter are found in low places in the forest. The lumber 



