FLORA OF MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK. 13 
of these large trees is considered very valuable on account of its 
hardness and fine grain. 
On account of the character of the soil the trees mentioned 
above do not attain their highest development. This is especially 
true of the hemlocks. The hemlocks can be distinguished by their 
foliage. The lowland hemlock has numerous small cones and 
foliage that is white on the lower side. The alpine hemlock has 
cones 1 \ to 2 inches in length and there is little or no difference in 
the color of the upper and lower sides of its foliage. 
The Douglas fir from this point begins to give way to other types. 
This is also true of the white cedar. The lowland hemlock, on the other 
hand, forms nearly pure forest at 3,200 feet and higher. The noble fir 
seems to reach its highest development just below the glaciers at an 
altitude of about 3,900 feet. • Just below the Nisquafly Glacier theforest 
is composed more largely of This tree than any other locality with 
which the writer is familiar. In the distance these trees can be 
recognized by their peculiar blue-green color which is very different 
from the color of any other coniferous tree. They have large cones 
covered by long exserted green bracts. The noble fir is usually 
accompanied by the lovely fir. In the upper part of this zone the 
alpine fir is common, so that the forest has a decidedly changed 
appearance. Here the valley has become very narrow and the 
trees grow mostly on steep mountain slopes. Occasionally the wake 
of the avalanche can he distinctly seen where the trees have been 
swept away. Where this is of common occurrence there is little 
or no vegetation, only the hare rocks or gravel, hut where this 
happens at long intervals new trees start up and grow until they in 
turn may be destroyed. 
In wet places a spruce occurs in the tree groups of the meadows. 
On the south side of the mountain the spruce is seldom seen, though 
it is common on the north and east sides. 
Several species of TJsnea, a lichen, become attached to the trees and 
give them a light gray color. These hang down from the trees in long 
thread-like tufts which give the trees a drooping or weeping appear¬ 
ance. These pendant lichens are popularly called Spanish moss, 
confusing it, perhaps, with Tillandsia, a thread-like vine which grows 
so profusely on the trees in Florida. In neither case is the name 
appropriate. How different is the aspect of the forest here, clothed 
in its garb of light gray drooping thread-like lichens, from the majestic 
trees of the lower forest in their apparently tropical attire. 
Many of the shrubs of the lower valley continue on up into the 
second zone. The white rhododendron, R. albijlorum (figs. 9 and 10), 
a beautiful shrub of the huckleberry family, enriches this area with its 
creamy-white flowers and glossy variegated leaves. It is said, how- 
