450 A TEXTBOOK OF GENERAL BOTANY 
cover the trunks and branches but also hang down in graceful 
festoons (Fig. 506). In the mosses and liverworts grow numer- 
ous ferns and a considerable number of flowering plants. 
Flowers of epiphytes, vines, and trees are usually numerous 
in this mossy forest, and, owing to the low stature of the trees, 
are conspicuous. The small size of the trees and their twisted 

Fig. 505. Lower part of twisted tree with many aérial roots in elfin mossy 
forest near summit of Mount Maquiling, Philippine Islands 
form, the thick mantles and festoons of mosses and liverworts, 
and the numerous blossoms give the mossy forest a weird yet 
attractive appearance and make it one of the most striking types 
of vegetation found in the tropics. 
Monsoon forests. In the tropics, regions with one or two pro- 
nounced dry seasons of several months’ duration are much greater 
in extent than are those with a constantly humid climate. A 
seasonal climate is particularly characteristic of the interior of 
