494 ABIES BKACTEATA. 



spire ; in Great Britain the oldest trees have a more conical outline. 

 Bark of trunk greyish brown, rugose but rarely fissured. Branches 

 spreading or slightly ascending with distichous ramification. Branchlets 

 opposite and rigid, with light reddish brown bark obscurely and 

 obliquely fluted by cortical outgrowths. Buds subfusiform, acute, about 

 075 inch long, the perular scales ovate-lanceolate, closely imbricated 



Fig. 127. Foliage of Abies bracteata. Natural size. 



and whitish brown. Leaves persistent seven nine years, linear, acute> r 

 spine-tipped, 1'75 2 '5 inches long, spirally inserted on the axis; those- 

 on the lower sterile branches owing to a twist of the short petiole 

 pseudo-distichous in two ranks ; on the upper fertile branches spreading; 

 on all sides and often falcately curved ; dark lustrous green above,, 

 with two glaucous stomatiferous bands beneath. Staminate flowers* 

 axillary on the under side of the branchlets, cylindric, 0*75 1*25 inch 

 long, surrounded at the base by oval, pergameneous, whitish brown 

 involucral scales in two imbricated series ; anthers pale lemon-yellow 

 * Communicated by Mr. Harding from Orton Hall, Peterboi'ougliJ 



