PINACEAE 



Pacific Silver Fir 



Abies amabilis (Dougl.) Forb. 



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

 (max. 200 by 6 feet); crown spirelike or pyramidal; bole clear 

 in dense forest, but clothed to the ground with rather short 

 branches in open. 



LEAVES. On lower branches %-P/4 inches long, crowded 

 toward the upper side of the twig, flat, lustrous dark green and 

 grooved above, silvery white with stomata below, notched or 

 pointed at apex; on fertile branches often somewhat thickened 

 and stomatiferous above at apex. 



FLOWERS. Male red; female with broad scales and lustrous 

 purple bracts. 



FRUIT. SYz-S inches long, cylindrical to barrel-shaped, deep 

 purple; scales slightly broader than long, and longer than the 

 spiny-tipped, inserted bracts. See: Yz inch long, light yellow- 

 brown, with pale brown wings % inch long. 



TWIG. Stout, orange-brown and puberulous the first year 

 becoming red-brown. Winter buds: subglobose, !4 inch long, 

 dark purple, resin-covered. 



BARK. Thin, silver-white to ash-gray with chalk-colored 

 blotches and resin blisters on trees at maturity; on overmature 

 trunks becoming scaly at the base. 



WOOD. Similar to balsam fir; used in limited quantites 

 for lumber and pulp. 



SILVICAL CHARACTERS. Moderately tolerant; growth 

 moderate, maturity being reached in about 250 years; repro- 

 duction abundant; often planted as ornamental because of 

 handsome crown shape and dense foliage; the most abundant 

 fir of the northwest. 



HABITAT. Transition and Canadian zones; altitudinal range 

 from sea level to 6,000 feet; best on deep, moist soils with southern 

 or western exposure; in pure stands or mixed with Sitka spruce, 

 Douglas-fir, grand fir, western hemlock, and western redcedar. 



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