52 HOUGH'S AMERICAN WOODS. 



spirally arranged, but generally appearing 2-ranked by a twist in their bases and 

 stomatiferous only below; leaves of leading shoots and fertile branches crowded, 

 incurved and more or less quadrangular, obtuse or acute at apex, and sometimes 

 stomatiferous above, persistent for eight or ten years and when falling away 

 leaving a circular flat scar; resin-ducts 2; branch-buds usually resin coated. 

 Flowers from the axils of the leaves of the previous year and confined to the 

 upper branches; the staminate in abundance on the lower side of branchlets, 

 oblong with stipe, surrounded at base with bud scales; anther-cells 2, extrorse, 

 opening transversely and connective terminating in a knob; pistillate flowers 

 erect on upper side of branchlet and usually only those of the topmost branches, 

 globose or cylindrical-oblong; scales numerous, imbricated and shorter than their 

 mucronate bracts. Cones erect, ovoid to cylindrical-oblong, maturing the first 

 year, with numerous broad thin imbricated scales, each bearing 2 seeds and spring- 

 ing from the axil of a thin membranous bract which with the scale and seeds falls 

 away at maturity from the straight persistent axis; seed furnished with resin 

 vesicles and a large membranous oblique wing at apex; cotyledons 4-10, shorter 

 than radicle. 



Trees of generally strict pyramidal habit of growth with branches in whorls and 

 bark of trunks when young containing numerous resin-vesicles. There are twenty- 

 four known species, all natives of the northern hemisphere and chiefly of northern 

 regions. Ten are found in North America north of Mexico, eight in the Pacific 

 coast and Rocky Mountain regions and two in the Atlantic states. (Abies is the 

 ancient Latin name of the Fir-tree.) 



300. ABIES FRASERI, LINDL. 

 ERASER FIR. 



Ger., Fraser Tanne; Fr., Sapin de Fraser; Sp., Abeto de Fraser. 



SPECIFIC CHARACTERS: Leaves flat, %-! in. long, those of the sterile branches 

 emarginate and those of the fertile acute at apex, dark green and centrally 

 grooved above, silvery white beneath with 8-12 rows of stomata. Flowers in May; 

 staminate reddish yellow ; pistillate with scales much broader than long and 

 shorter than the exserted pale yellow-green bracts. Cones mature in September, 

 ovoid-oblong, 2-2% in. long, dark purple with scales wider than long and with 

 long exserted pale yellow-green reflexed bracts, aristate at apex; seeds about % in. 

 long with very wide wing oblique at apex. 



The Fraser Fir is a tree sometimes 70 ft. (21 m. ) in height, 

 though usually not surpassing 50 ft. (15 m. ) and with a trunk some- 

 times 21/0 ft. (0.75 m.) in thickness. It develops a distinct and com- 

 pact pyramidal top, with whorls of long horizontal or drooping lower 

 branches and those above successively shorter to the pointed apex. 

 The bark of the younger trunks is quite copiously supplied with 

 resin-blisters, but that of the older trunks much less, and it becomes 

 with age covered with thin yellowish gray papery scales giving an 

 appearance very different from the bark of the common Balsam Fir 

 of the northern states and Canada. 



HABITAT. One of the most restricted trees of the Atlantic states, 

 the Fraser Fir is found only in altitudes of from 4,000 to 6,000 ft. 



