Bark smooth and 



PINE FAMILY 45 



fascicled. Cones maturing the first autumn, erect, the thin 

 scales deciduous and falling to the ground leaving the taper- 

 like persistent axis. 



1. A. concolor L. & G. White Fir. 

 whitish, becoming gray and very rough 

 on old trunks, pale inside. Leaves spread- 

 ing in 2 opposite directions or all curving 

 upward, leaving smooth round scars 

 when they fall, mostly 24 to 1^4 i n - long. 

 Cones nearly cylindric, 2 to 5 in. long, 

 1 to \y$ in. thick; the rounded scales 

 incurved at apex, twice as long as their 

 bracts. 



The White Fir is a beautifully sym- 

 metrical tree, 60 to 200 ft. high, with 

 regularly tapering crown through which 

 the silvery shaft is visible in growing 

 specimens. It is common at middle alti- 

 tudes but requires better soil and more 

 moisture than Yellow Pine. The text 

 figure illustrates a cone from which all 

 but the lower scales have fallen, exposing the persistent 

 central axis. 



2. A. magnifica Murr. Red Fir. General appearance and 

 characters of White Fir but bark on old trunks reddish, in 

 section reddish brown and purple. Cones much larger, 4 to 

 8 in. long, 2J^ to 2> l / 2 in. thick, their bracts either shorter than 

 the scales or (in var. shastensis Lemmon) much exceeding 

 them and the tips reflexed. — Of higher 



altitudes; forming forests at 7000 to 

 10,000 ft. 



5. SEQUOIA. Redwood. 



1. S. gigantea Dec. Big Tree. A 

 massive tree, 100 to 325 ft. high, with 

 rounded crown and red furrowed bark. 

 Leaves awl-like, ^ in. or less long, 

 only the tips free from the branchlets. 

 Cones maturing the second autumn, 

 ovoid, 2 to 3$4 in- long. 



The Big Tree occurs in isolated 

 groves from Placer County south to 

 Kern County, forming large forests 

 toward the south, but limited in our 

 district to the Mariposa, the Merced, 



