436 
plants, while in moist situations, especially in ravines, herbs are 
A TEXTBOOK OF GENERAL BOTANY 
abundant. Among the latter, ferns are frequently prominent. 
Large vines are always conspicuous in moist tropical forests. 
Among these are the climbing palms, bamboos, and aroids. In 
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Fic. 490. An epiphytic bromeliad (Billbergia) 
Note that the leaves form urn-shaped cups for 
collecting water, which is absorbed by absorbing 
hairs on the leaves. (xX 75 
the Malayan region the 
long, feathery leaves of 
rattans (climbing palms 
chiefly of the genus 
Calamus) are particu- 
larly striking (Figs. 70, 
489). Dicotyledonous 
vines are conspicuous 
chiefly as large cables 
hanging from the crowns 
of the tall trees. 
Epiphytic vegetation 
is abundant but is con- 
fined chiefly to the 
larger branches of dom- 
inant trees, where it fre- 
quently forms striking 
aérial gardens. The 
conspicuous epiphytes 
are ferns and flowering 
plants, orchids (Fig. 2) 
being very numerous. 
In the American trop- 
ics, bromeliads (Fig. 490) are conspicuous. The epiphytes have 
a xerophytic structure, many of them containing abundant water- 
storing tissue. 
The most striking feature of moist tropical forests is the great 
development of foliage, which is usually continuous from the 
ground covering to the top of the forests. Although the forest 
consists chiefly of large trees, what strikes the eye is not the 
gigantic trunks but rather the foliage which hides the trunks 
(Fig. 491). In some tropical forests the canopy is exceedingly 
et 
