PINAGEAE 



Noble Fir 

 Abies procera Rehd. [Abies nobilis (Dougl.) Lindl.] 



HABIT. A large tree 1 50-200 feet high and 4-6 feet in diameter 

 (max. 250 by 8 feet) ; crown broad and rounded ; bole clear for 

 much of its length. 



LEAVES. On lower branches l-lVz inches long, flattened, 

 rounded and often notched at the apex; on upper fertile branches 

 almost equally 4-sided, with long, rigid, callous tips; marked 

 on upper surface by sharply defined groove; glaucous during 

 first year, becoming blue-green; stomatiferous on all sides. 



FLOWERS. Male red-purple; female with orbicular bracts 

 much longer than rounded scales. 



FRUIT. Very distinctive; 4-6 inches long; cylindrical; 

 purple or olive-brown; scales wider than long, nearly or entirely 

 covered by strongly reflexed, greenish bracts. Seed: Yi inch 

 long, red-brown, with short, lustrous, light brown wings. 



TWIG. Slender, red-brown, rusty-pubescent. Winter buds: 

 oblong-conic, H inch long, slightly resinous at tip, red-brown, 

 blunt. 



BARK. 1-2 inches thick, red-brown, and fissured on old trunks; 

 smooth and gray for many years on younger trunks, with prom- 

 inent resin blisters. 



WOOD. Best quality of native true firs, used in aircraft; 

 light, straight-grained, not durable. 



SILVICAL CHARACTERS. Seedlings and trees both intol- 

 erant; growth rather rapid; maturity reached in about 350 

 years; reproduction sparse; deep, spreading roots. 



HABITAT. Transition zone; in stands of mixed conifers; 

 altitudinal range from 2,000-5,000 feet; on cool, deep, moist 

 sites. 



* * * 



Bristlecone Fir 



Abies bracteata D. Don. [Abies venusta (Dougl.) K. Koch] 



This curious species is native only to Monterey County, 

 California. It is easily distinguished by its flat, bristle-pointed 

 needles 1-2 inches long, its ovoid, non-resinous bud M.-1 inch 

 long, and its 3-4 inch cone with its spiny, long-exserted bracts. 



[87] 



