"Cereus-validus..." wrote in
om:

"Iris Cohen" wrote in message
...
Don't non-flowering plants count? BRBR

Don't be silly. The spermatophytes or Magnoliophyta are generally
referred to
as the "higher plants" colloquially, just as the vertebrates are
referred to as
the higher animals. It is not a value judgement. All I meant was
that you would
not find seed-bearing epiphytes in the Pacific Northwest because
the climate is
too cold.
Iris,
Central NY, Zone 5a, Sunset Zone 40
"A tree never hits an automobile except in self defense." - Woody
Allen




"All I meant was that you would not find seed-bearing epiphytes in
the Pacific Northwest because the climate is too cold."

I would disagree with that assertion. Its is more likely that few
if any epiphytic flowering plants are found in the Pacific
Northwest because of the lack of potential progenitors in the
region.


So with all the variety of epiphytic genera, families, orders, etc.
in the tropics, many of which must at some time had not had any
progenitors of the habit, and considering all the tropical islands
and continents with epiphytic taxa, you claim that it is a problem
with progenitors instead of some other factor. There is quite a lot
of variety within the temperate rain forest, but still a lack of
epiphytes. There are plenty of plants in the same families or genera
that produce tropical epiphytes there, for example Orchids, or
Gingers. The Hawaiian islands managed to produce a variety of
epiphytes, and they certainly started out with no progenitors of
anything.

Sean