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Lava Beds National Monument Ferns
Ferns in Lava Beds grow on cliffs and bluffs of basaltic rock. The three species found here are Brittlefern ( Cystoperis fragilis ), Goldfern ( Pityrogramma triangularis ), and Broad buckler fern ( Dryopteris dilatata ). An impressive variety of fern species are present in cave entrances including the spreading wood fern ( Dryopteris expansa ) and the western swordfern ( Polystichum munitum ). These species are well outside of their normal range 90 -125 miles away on the northern California coastline.
Maine ocean islands provide the only nesting sites for Atlantic puffins in the United States. Eastern Egg Rock in the midcoast region, Seal Island and Matinicus Rock at the mouth of Penobscot Bay, and Machias Seal Island and Petit Manan Island off the downeast coast provide habitat for more than 4,000 puffins each summer.