174 



ABIES 



ABIES 



dian balsam, or balsam of fir, is obtained from the bark ; 

 in cult, loses its beauty early. Var. columnaris, Hort. 

 Branches very short, turned upward at the ends. Var. 

 hudsdnia, Engelm. (A. hudsonica, Hort.), is a dwarf 

 form. Var. lutescens, Hort. Lvs. white, yellow or 

 straw-colored when exposed to the sun. 



7. Fraseri, Poir. SHE BALSAM. Tree, 30-50 or even 

 70 ft.: trunk reaching 2}-^ ft. in diam. : Ivs. flat, ob- 

 tusely short-pointed, twisted at the base so as to appear 

 to be crowded on the upper side of the branches, dark 

 green and lustrous: cones oblong-ovate or nearly oval, 

 rounded at the slightly narrower apex, purple, 2*4 in. 

 long and 1 in. thick, the scales twice as wide as long, 

 and at maturity nearly half covered by the ends of the 

 pale reflexed bracts. Mts. of 

 Va., Tenn., and N. C. S.S. 

 12:609. G.F. 2:475. Too 

 much like the balsam fir to be 

 prized as an ornamental tree. 

 Trees sold under this name are 

 nearly always forms of A. bal- 

 samea. Very short-lived in cult. 



61. Cones of Abies. From 

 bottom to top, A. concolor, A. 

 Nordmanniana, A. magnifica. 



8. grandis, Lindl. (A. amdbilis, Murr., not Forbes. 

 A. GordoniAna, Carr. Plcea grdndis, Loud.). Fig. 60. 

 Tree, 200-300 ft.: trunk becoming 4 ft. in diam.: Ivs. 

 thin and flexible, deeply grooved, very dark green above 

 and silvery white beneath: cones cylindrical, 2-4 in. 

 long, rounded or retuse at the apex, the broad scales 

 somewhat squarrose and irregularly serrate and fur- 

 nished with a short point. Coast of N. Calif, to Van- 

 couver Isl. and to the western slopes of the Rocky Mts. 

 of Mont. S.S. 12:612. Gn.38,p. 291. G.C. II. 15:179, 

 181. R.H. 1894, p. 274. Occasional specimens are 

 seen in choice grounds, but it rarely does well in the 

 eastern states. 



cc. Foliage pale blue or glaucous. 



9. cfincolor, Lindl. & Gord. (A. Lowidna, A. Murr. 

 A. Parsonsiana, Hort., the Pacific form). WHITE FIB. 

 Fig. 61. Tree, 100-250 ft.: trunk 4-6 ft. in diam.: 

 Ivs. elongated, stomatiferous on the upper surface, on 

 fertile branches often falcate and thickened and keeled 

 above: cones oblong, gray-green, dark purple or 

 bright canary-yellow, 3-5 in. long; bracts shorter than 

 their scales. W. N. Amer. from S. Ore. to Low. Calif. 



and to Utah, S. Colo., New Mex., Ariz, and Sonora 

 S.S. 12:613. G.C. II. 13:649; II. 15:661; III. 8:748, 

 749; III. 35:59. Of all fir trees, the Colorado form 

 best withstands heat and drought; very hardy, grows 

 rapidly, and the most desirable of the genus in the east- 

 ern states. The form from the Pacific coast is less 

 hardy and less desirable in the E. as an ornamental 

 tree. Seedlings of the Colorado form, with rather 

 longer and more glaucous leaves, are found in nurseries 

 as A.concolorviolacea. Var. aurea, Beiss. Young shoots 

 golden yellow in May, afterward becoming silver-gray. 

 Var. brevifdlia, Beiss. Lvs. short and obtuse, twice as 

 broad as in typical form. Var. falcata, Niem. Lvs. 

 sickle-shaped, curved upward. Var. globdsa, Niem. 

 Plant spherical, with symmet rical small branches. 



BB. Lvs. pointed, especially on main shoots, 

 and usually rigid. 



10. Veitchii, Lindl. (A. nephrdlepis, Maxim.). 

 Tree, 80-100 ft.: trunk 3-4 ft. in diam.; branch- 

 lets slender, pubescent: Ivs. crowded, dark green 

 and lustrous above, silvery white below: cones 

 cylindrical, slender, dark purple, 2-2 J^ in. long; 

 bracts shorter than their scales. Mts. of Cent. 

 Japan; gregarious and forming great forests, 

 coast of Manchuria. G.C. II. 13:273. Very 

 hardy in the northern states, and when young is 

 one of the most beautiful of fir trees. 



11. brachyphylla, Maxim. Tree, 80-100 ft.: 

 trunk 6 ft. in diam.; upper branches long and 

 vigorous, ultimately forming a broad, round- 

 topped head: Ivs. elongated, sharp-pointed, dark 

 green and very lustrous above, silvery white 

 below: cones cylindrical, stout, dark purple, 

 3-3J/6 in. long; bracts much shorter than their 



scales. Mts. of Cent. Japan, singly or in small groves. 

 B.M. 7114. Very hardy, and when young one of the 

 most desirable of the fir trees for the northern states. 



12. cepha!6nica, Loud. Tree, 60-70 ft.: trunk 2-4 

 ft. in diam.: Ivs. broad, rigid, sharp-pointed, standing 

 out from the branches at right angles : cones cylindrical, 

 slender, pointed, gray-brown, 5-6 in. long; bracts 

 longer or rarely snorter than their scales. Mt. Enos, on 

 the Isl. of Cephalonia. Gng. 6:49. G.W. 5, p. 15; 12, 

 p. 399; 14, p. 538. Doubtfully hardy in northern states. 



Var. Apollinis, Boiss. (A. Apdllinis, Link), with nar- 

 row and blunter Ivs., is remarkable in its power to pro- 

 duce vigorous shoots from adventitious buds. Mts. of 

 Greece and Rpumelia; often gregarious; more hardy 

 than the type in the northern states. Page 3565. 



13. Pinsapo, Boiss. SPANISH FIR. Tree, 70-80 ft. : 

 trunk 4-6 ft. in diam.: Ivs. short, broad, rigid, sharp- 

 pointed, bright green, spreading from all sides of the 

 stiff branchlets: cones cylindrical, slender, gray-brown, 

 5/^-6 in. long; bracts shorter than their scales. 

 Mts. of Cent, and S. Spain; often gregarious. G.C. III. 

 21:407; 29:65; 31:407. Not hardy north of the 

 middle states. 



AA. Nobiles. Lvs. blue-green, often glaucous, stoma- 

 tiferous on both surfaces, flat or 4-sided on sterile 

 branches, J^-sided acute, incurved and crowded on 

 fertile branches. 



14. nobilis, Lindl. (Plcea ndbilis, Loud.). RED FIB. 

 Tree, 150-250 ft.: trunk 6-8 ft. in diam.: Ivs. on lower 

 branches grooved above, rounded and emarginate at 

 the apex: cones oblong-cylindrical, purplish or olive- 

 brown, 4-6 in. long; bracts much longer, thin and cover- 

 ing the scales, strongly reflexed, pale green. Cascade 

 and Coast Mts. of Wash, and Ore. ; often gregarious. 

 S.S. 12:617. G.C. II. 19:15; III. 20:275. There is a 

 var. glauca in the trade. 



15. magnifica, A. Murr. RED FIB. Fig. 61. Tree, 

 200-250 ft.: trunk 6-10 ft. in diam.: Ivs. quadrangular, 

 bluntly pointed on sterile and acute on fertile branches: 

 cones oblong-cylindrical, purplish brown, 6-9 in. long; 



