BALSAM FIR; SHE BALSAM (Abies Fraseri, Poir). 40 to 

 60 feet. Open, pyramidal tree, with stiff, horizontal branches ; 

 ending in stout, yellowish-brown, fuzzy twigs, with crowded, 

 shining foliage. Bark cinnamon-red, thin, scaly, at length 

 becoming gray. Wood coarse-grained, pale brown, weak, 

 soft, used locally for lumber. Leaves dark green, lustrous 

 above, pale beneath, \ to 1 inch long, narrow, flat, with median 

 groove above, curved and twisted to appear 2-ranked on the 

 twig; tips blunt or notched. Flowers cone clusters; stami- 

 nate yellow, with red anthers; pistillate erect on upper side of 

 twig, with broad green scales, each over a yellow-green, fingei- 

 tipped bract that stands out from it. Fruit erect oval cones 

 about 2 inches long, the toothed bracts, yellowish green, 

 turning back over the plain purple scales; seeds winged, falling 

 with the scales and bracts, leaving the axis of the cone, which 

 is tardy in falling off. Dist.: In forests 4,000 to 6,000 feet 

 elevation in Appalachian Mountains, southwestern Virginia 

 eastern Tennessee, and western North Carolina. 



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