Vertical distribution of cryptogams on five in- dividuals of Acer rubrum was measured by actual coverage in quadrats encircling the trunk at heights of 1.5, 4, 7, and 10 m. Five lichens dominated: Parmelia caperata, P. physodes, P. rudecta, P. saxatilis, and P. sulcata. Parmelia sulcata had greater coverage than all the other species combined. All species showed distinct patterns of vertical distribution with mosses dominating below 1 m and lichens being most abundant between 4 and 7 m. In 1952 I surveyed the vertical distribution of cryptogams in a virgin windfallen forest in northern Wisconsin. There was pronounced stratification of cryptogams with an apparent peak of abundance in and just below the canopy. No data on coverage were taken in that study because of time limitations; presence and frequency in one- meter-high quadrats encircling the trunks were the only measure- ments of the species. After learning in 1962 that a small red maple swamp in Connecticut was destined for eventual lumbering, I de- cided to investigate it at once and to use actual coverage of the species as the main phytosociological measurement. This method is highly accurate but extremely tedious and time-consuming, and for this reason has apparently never before been employed on such a large scale. The area under investigation is a typical flat red maple swamp of about seven acres, located at the headwaters of a small stream one mile south of Colebrook, Litchfield County, Connecticut. Tree ring analysis showed an age range of 60-70 years before which the area was a clear-cut wet sedge meadow. Complete reforestation with little disturbance followed about 1900.. The soil has now built up as a thick layer of muck (about 80 cm deep) and hummocks of humus underlain by sand and gravel. The understory is herbaceous with sedges and ferns dominant. The major trees are red maple (Acer rubrum), elm (Ulmus americana), and ash (Fraxinus nigra). The canopy is quite irregular, with an average height of 14-18 m, admit- ting considerable sunshine, as opposed to the dense canopy in the virgin forest in Wisconsin.