12 FLORA OF MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK. 
close of the season. The licorice fern, Polypodium occidental, 
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 monticola, 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, hut are apparently 
tied together at the base and inserted into the branch. The hark 
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 hark 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 
