2 
FLORA OF MOUNT RAINIER NATIONAL PARK. 
recognize it by its thick bark, cleft into long perpendicular furrows 
on tbe 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 plicata. 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 
silvery 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 
