IP s t e I s i a 175 



An alpine tree with slender, often drooping 

 branches and short, stout, erect branchlets; 

 leaves crowded, extending out from the twigs 

 in all directions, not flattened, stomatiferous on 

 all sides, 1-2 centimeters long, obtusely pointed 

 at the apex; cones 2-8 centimeters long, oblong 

 cylindrical, sessile at the end of short leafy 

 branchlets, pendulous or erect, purple or some- 

 times pale yellow-green; cone-scales oblong- 

 ovate, longer than broad; seeds about 3 milli- 

 meters long with large resin vesicles and long 

 wings. From Alaska southward along the moun- 

 tain ranges to the southern Sierra Nevada and 

 eastward in the high mountains of the interior 

 of British Columbia, Idaho and Montana. 



This tree usually occupies alpine regions 

 near the limit of tree growth. It has been found 

 on some of the higher mountains of southern 

 Vancouver Island. On Mt. Edinburgh, near 

 Port Renfrew, it occurs only close to the summit, 

 not descending below three thousand feet. In 

 the extreme northern part of its range it descends 

 to sea-level and occurs in Alaska almost as far 

 northwest as the tideland spruce and as it is able 



