PURPOSE AND SCOPE OF THIS PUBLICATION

Owing to the fact that the mosses provide such conspicuous and interesting elements of the flora of the region and because so many questions are asked concerning them, the Park Naturalist, Mr. C. Frank Brockman, has felt that a study of this group was desirable as an addition to the park information to be embodied in the Park Encyclopedia. It is hoped that it may be possible to extend this study to embrace also the Liverworts of the Bryophytes.

All specimens described in this publication have been placed in the park herbarium at Longmire and as new collections are made, similar herbariums will be provided at Paradise and Yakima Park for the information of the staff members, visiting specialists and other interested individuals. Therefore, may we stress again the fact that this study is a part of the program in Mount Rainier National Park to back up all of the information which is dispensed in the park by sound scientific research.

The author wishes to state that the study of the mosses in Mount Rainier National Park is by no means completed with this work. In fact, a number of additional species could probably be found on a collecting trip in any direction; as these are found in the future, additions will be made to the check list, The mosses represented in the study do, however, include all of the most conspicuous forms to be encountered.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The author especially wishes to thank the Park Naturalist, Mr. C. Frank Brockman, who recognized the importance of studying completely the plant life of the park and who helped in many ways to make possible this study of the mosses of the region. Collections of the mosses extended over two summers, 1936 and 1937, with various members of the park staff assisting in collecting. Among these men should be mentioned Mr. E. A. Kitchin, Mr. E. Y. Danner, Mr. Charles Landes, Mr. Julius Hoverson and Mr. Wayne Durston. Assistance of a number of specialists in identifying moss specimens is gratefully acknowledged as follows: Dr. A. J. Grout for assistance on the Pleurocarpi and various other specimens; Dr. G. N. Jones on the Grimmiaceae; Dr. A. LeRoy Andrews en the Bryaceae; Mr. A. J. Sharp on the Andreaeaceae; and Dr. Winona H. Welch on the Fontinalaceae.