This summer I visited the Hoh Rainforest in Olympic National Park in Washington State. Here in the temperate rainforest, the plants receive more than 100 inches of rain each year! The trees are covered with moss, and the ferns thrive in the understory.
The Hoh Rainforest is next to a river fed by melted glaciers. I saw a family of elk by the river!
In addition to covering the forest floor, many ferns grow as epiphytes on the moss-covered tree limbs (see polypody to the left).
Naturally, beautiful mushrooms also thrive in this environment.
Photo credits: Helen Holmlund
Holmlund Lab 