FERN JUNGLE, Hawaii National Park. Protection of the great tree ferns of Hawaii National Park, many of which grow to heights of more than 40 feet, is especially important, since outside the park they are fast being cut for lumber. In the park all ferns, from dainty little specimens less than an inch high to the tree fern giants, have full protection. This fern forest is in the Kilauea section of the park, on Hawaii, the largest and newest of the Hawaiian Islands. Periodic eruptions of the two volcanoes in the park—Kilauea and Mauna Loa—constantly add to the bulk of the island.

YOUNG MANGROVE, Everglades National Park. Typical of the Tropics are the mangroves, with their aerial roots and low-tangled branches that grow along the coastline. This is a young tree; in the Everglades, the species grow as tall as 40 feet and often form dense forests. The mangrove, alias the oyster tree because its underpinnings offer a good place for oysters to cling, is a great landbuilder. The roots, sprawling out from above-ground like great spiders, catch floating branches, earth, and other natural debris, the land creeps forward, and a new shoreline is formed. (Photograph by Ralph S. Palmer.)