PINACEAE 



Grand Fir. Lowland White Fir 

 Abies grandis (Dougl.) Lindl. 



HABIT. A tree 140-160 feet in height and 2-4 feet in diam- 

 eter (max. 250 by 6 feet) ; rather open domelike crown, on old 

 trees appearing wider in the middle because of the drooping of 

 the lower branches. 



LEAVES. On lower branches l!/2~2 inches long, scattered, 

 distinctly 2-ranked; on fertile branches 1-1 J/2 inches long, 

 more crowded, obscurely 2-ranked or nearly erect; blunt, flat, 

 lustrous dark yellow-green and grooved above, white with 2 

 bands of stomata below. 



FLOWERS. Male pale yellow; female light yellow-green. 



FRUIT. 2-4}^ inches long, cylindrical, yellow-green to 

 green-purple; scales i/3 broader than long, and 3-4 times longer 

 than short-tipped bracts. Seed: Yq inch long, light brown, with 

 straw-colored wing about %, inch long. 



TWIG. Slender, yellow-green to orange-brown, puberulous 

 becoming glabrous in second year. Winter buds: subglobose, 

 Ys-]^ inch long. 



BARK, Thin, gray-brown, smooth except for resin blisters 

 and chalky white blotches on young trees; becoming 2-3 inches 

 thick, red-brown, plated or divided into flat ridges separated by 

 deep furrows. 



WOOD. Similar to balsam fir, but with disagreeable odor, 

 and so known as "stinking fir"; lumber, pulp, and boxes. 



SILVICAL CHARACTERS. Moderately tolerant, but less 

 so than associated firs; growth moderate, maturity being reached 

 in about 200 years; reproduction abundant if sufficient moisture 

 and protection against frost present; windfirm with deep, spread- 

 ing root system; subject to attach by spruce budworm and stringy 

 brown-rot fungus. 



HABITAT. Transition and Canadian zones; altitudinal 

 range from sea level to 5,000 feet; on deep, moist, alluvial soils 

 along streams or on mountain slopes; in limited pure stands, or 

 more frequently in mixed hardwood and coniferous forests with 

 ponderosa, western white, and lodgepole pines, Douglas-fir, 

 western larch, alpine fir, Engelmann spruce, etc. 



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