PINACEAE 



White Fir 

 Abies concolor (Gord. & Glend.) Lindl. 



HABIT. A tree 120-150 feet high and 3-4 feet in diameter 

 (max. 200 by 6 feet) ; a dense conelike crown with heavily foliaged, 

 long-persisting, short branches. 



LEAVES. On lower branches 2-3 inches long, flat, straight, 

 and acute at apex; on fertile branches, or on old trees, V^-lYz 

 inches long, thick, keeled above, usually curved, acute or rarely 

 noticed at apex; silver-blue to silver-green; crowded; more or 

 less obscurely 2-ranked or extending from all sides of twig; 

 stomatiferous above and below. 



FLOWERS. Male rose to dark red; female greenish. 



FRUIT. 3-5 inches long, oblong, bright yellow to olive- 

 green or purple; scales much broader than long, and twice as 

 long as short-tipped bracts. Seed: Vz-Yz inch long, yellow- 

 brown with rose-tinted broad wing. 



TWIGS. Moderately stout, smooth, yellow-green to brown- 

 green and ultimately gray-brown. Winter buds: subglobose, 

 resin-covered, Vq-Ya: inch long, yellow-brown. 



BARK. Thin, gray, smooth except for numerous resin blisters 

 on young trees; becoming 4—7 inches thick, ash-gray, hard and 

 horny, with deep furrows and wide ridges. 



WOOD. Similar to balsam fir; used for lumber, pulp, boxes 

 and novelties. 



SILVIO AL CHARACTERS. Tolerant, although less so than 

 alpine fir; growth moderately rapid, maturity being reached in 

 about 300 years; reproduction generally abundant and aggressive; 

 root system normally shallow. 



HABITAT. Transition and Canadian zones; altitudinal range 

 from 6,000-1 1,000 feet; requires less moisture than other western 

 firs, existing surprisingly well on poor, dry sites; seldom in pure 

 stands, usually with ponderosa and limber pine, Douglas-fir, 

 alpine fir, Engelmann spruce, and aspen. 



GENERAL. The Pacific white fir, considered a variety by 

 some authors, [A. concolor var. lowiana (Gord.) Lemm.] of Oregon 

 and California diff'ers from the species in having smaller buds 

 and somewhat longer needles which are more pectinately ar- 

 ranged. 



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