FLORA OF MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK. 



recognize it by its thick bark, cleft into long perpendicular furrows 

 on the large trees, and by the leaves surrounding the branches, from 

 which hang numerous cones with projecting bracts. The next tree 

 in value is the white cedar, Thuja plieata. This is easily recognized 

 by its arbor-vitae like foliage, its thin fibrous bark and spreading 

 base. It is the only cedar or cedarlike tree in that forest until the 

 upper limit where the Alaska cedar begins to come in. The lowland 

 western hemlock is perhaps second in abundance. It may be recog- 

 nized by its small cones and short foliage silvery white on the lower 

 side of the branches and by its drooping plumelike top, while all the 

 firs have erect tops. There are three true firs scattered through this 

 forest, namely, the lovely, Abies amabilis, the silver, Abies grandis, 

 and the noble, Abies nobilis. The lovely fir is sometimes called larch 

 by the lumbermen, thus confusing it with a tree which does not grow 

 on the western slope of the Cascades. The lovely fir has scaly bark 

 somewhat like the spruce and a dome shaped top. The foliage is 

 not white underneath; the tree has large purple cones without ex- 

 serted bracts, which grow only on the top of the tree. The silver 

 fir grows rather sparingly throughout this zone. It can be recog- 

 nized by its leaves, which are of three different lengths and twisted 

 so that they lie nearly in the same plane on opposite sides of the 

 branch, thus giving it a flat appearance. The branches are generally 

 sdvery white underneath, hence the popular name. The bark is often 

 white, hence sometimes called white fir. It has small green cones 

 without exserted bracts. This tree flourishes best among alder and 

 Cottonwood where there is an abundance of moisture and extends 

 from sea level to about 4,000 feet. The lumber is classed with hem- 

 lock by the lumbermen. The noble fir is not abundant in this zone. 



The deciduous trees of this zone are the broad-leafed maple, the 

 vine maple, the alder, and cottonwood. The broad-leafed maples 

 are noted for their dense foliage. In the dense forest of tall conifers 

 they often take on an enormous growth of moss, liverworts, lichens, 

 and ferns, which gives them a superficial resemblance to a tropical 

 epiphytic forest, while the vine maples, small and tough, bend over 

 to the ground, forming many fantastical curves and tangles almost 

 impenetrable to the experienced woodsman. These tangles are often 

 made up of several other troublesome shrubs, such as the devil's club, 

 Echinopanax horridum, with its irritating spines, broad palmate 

 leaves, and red berries. The cascara, an alderlike small tree, is noted 

 for the medicinal qualities of its bark, which is collected in some 

 localities and shipped in carloads to the eastern market. The wil- 

 lows, spiraeas, huckleberries, and the dainty little pachistima are all 

 more or less abundant in this dense forest area. 



The herbaceous plants of this region are perhaps the most interest- 

 ing, because of the many odd forms. The strangest of these belong 



