ABIES 



ABIES 



173 



North America, and in the neighborhood of the Pacific 

 Ocean can be grown successfully the firs of western 

 North America, Mexico, Europe, India and eastern Asia. 

 Propagation is mostly by seeds. The percentage of 

 fertile seeds produced by firs is much smaller than that 

 yielded by spruces and pines, and small crops of seed- 

 lings are often secured from large sowings of the seeds. 

 The seeds lose their fertility sooner than those of many 

 conifers and cannot be safely kept more than one or two 

 years; they should be planted in carefully prepared seed- 

 beds and covered with soil to a depth equal to the 

 thickness of the seed. Young plants begin to appear 

 at the end of a few weeks, and, as they are extremely 

 sensitive to the heat of the sun, they need the protec- 

 tion of lath or brush screens. Like other conifers, the 

 different species can be propagated by side-grafting 

 on other species of the genus. Grafted plants, how- 

 ever, are less valuable than seedlings and propagation 

 in this way is slow and expensive, as the work must 

 be performed in glass houses. The leading or other 

 upright-growing shoot should be chosen for the graft, 

 as trees obtained by the use of lateral branches for grafts 

 do not often grow into erect or shapely trees. The 

 species most commonly used for stocks are A. Picea 

 and A. balsamea. 



INDEX. 



nephrolepis, 10. 

 nobilis, 14. 

 Nordmanniana, 2. 

 Parsonsiana, 9. 

 pectinate, 1. 

 Picea, 1. 

 pichta, 5. 

 Pinsapo, 13. 

 abastensis, 15. 

 sibirica, 5. 

 Veitchii, 10. 



A. Euabies. Lvs. flat, grooved on the upper surface, only 

 occasionally stomatiferous above on upper fertile 

 branches. 



B. Lf. blunt. 

 c. Foliage essentially green, -the Ivs. green above and 



whitish only beneath. 

 D. Cones usually upward of 4 in. long. 



1. Picea, Lindl. (A. peclindta, DC.). SILVER FIR. 

 Fig. 60. Tree, 100-200 ft.: trunk 6-8 ft. in diam.: 

 Ivs. flat, distichpusly spreading, dark green and lus- 

 trous above, silvery white below: cones slender, 

 cylindrical, light green to dark purple, 5-6 in. long; 

 bracts slightly longer than their scales. Mts. of Cent, 

 and S. Eu., often gregarious. Wood esteemed and much 

 used; yields Strasburg turpentine. Dwarf forms, with 

 erect and pendulous and with much abbreviated 

 branches, are common in gardens. Not perfectly hardy 

 in New England. 



2. Nordmanniana, Spach. Fig. 61. Tree, 100-150 ft. : 

 trunk 4-6 ft. in diam. : Ivs. flat, crowded, dark green and 

 very lustrous above, silvery white below: cones oblong- 

 cylindrical or ellipsoidal, dark orange-brown, 4-6 in. 

 long; bracts as long as or slightly longer than their 

 scales. Mts. south and southeast of the Black Sea, and 

 western spurs of the Caucasus. B.M. 6992. Gng. 6:51. 

 G.C. II. 19:797. Often hardy; one of the most desir- 

 able firs in the middle states. Var. a&reo-variegata, 

 Hort. Shoots colored a pure golden yellow. 



3. cilicica, Carr. Tree, 45-60 ft.: trunk 2-3 ft. in 

 diam.: Ivs. narrow, flat, pale green above, silvery white 

 below: cones stout, cylindrical, orange-brown, 5-6 in. 

 long; bracts rather shorter than their scales. At high 

 elevations on the Anti-Taurus of Asia Minor, and on 

 the Lebanon. A.G. 16:255. Gng. 4:113. Begins to 

 grow early in the spring and is often injured by late 

 frosts; hardy and desirable in the northern states. 



4. amabilis, Forbes. WHITE FIR. Tree, 100-150 ft.: 

 trunk 4-6 ft. in diam.: Ivs. crowded, dark green and 

 very lustrous above, silvery white below, occasionally 



stomatiferous on the upper surface: cones oblong, dark 

 purple, 3)^-6 in. long; bracts much shorter than their 

 scales. Cascade Mts. of Wash, and Ore., and Coast 

 Ranges from Vancouver Isl. to Ore. S.S. 12:614. G.C. 

 II. 14:721, 725; III. 30:191. One of the handsomest 

 of the genus, often forming groves at high elevations; 

 in cult, grows slowly, and is not satisfactory. 

 DD. Cones usually under 4 in. long. 

 5. sibirica, Ledeb. (A. pichta, Forbes). Tree, 60- 

 100 ft.: trunk 2-4 ft. in diam.: Ivs. crowded, dark yel- 

 low-green: cones cylindrical, slender, brownish yel- 

 low, 2J^-3 in. long; bracts much shorter than their 

 scales. N. and E. Russia to Kamtschatka and Mon- 

 golia, gregarious on the Altai Mts. Very hardy, the 

 early growth often injured by late frosts; in cult, soon 

 becomes thin and loose in habit. 



60. Cones of Abies. From bottom to top, A. grandis, 

 A. balsamea, A. Picea. 



6. balsamea, Mill. BALSAM FIR. BALM OF GILEAD 

 FIR. Fig. 60. Tree, 50-80 ft.: trunk 17-30 in. in diam.: 

 Ivs. dark green and lustrous above, pale below, rounded 

 or obtusely short-pointed and occasionally emarginate, 

 acute or acuminate on fertile branches: cones oblong, 

 cylindrical, purple, 2J^-4 in. long; bracts shorter or 

 rarely slightly longer than their scales. E. N. Amer. 

 from Labrador and the valley of the Athabasca to Iowa 

 and the mts. of Va. S.S. 12:610. G.C. III. 17:423, 

 425, 431. Wood occasionally used for lumber; Cana- 



