ABIES 123 



the main timber belt) ; A. concolor is from Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona. 

 A. Lowiana is a tree up to 200 ft, high, the young shoots pale green, with a 

 slight down which often falls away by winter. Buds resinous, smaller than in 

 A. concolor. Leaves mostly in two opposite sets spreading out flatly and 

 horizontally, as in A. grandis ; in this respect they differ from those of A. 

 concolor, as they do also in the frequently notched apex and the grooved upper 

 surface. Both species have broken stomatic lines on the upper side (as well as 

 on the lower one), but they are more conspicuous in A. concolor. The leaves of 

 A. Lowiana are from i^ to 2^ ins. long, and pretty uniform in length ; in the 

 latter respect they differ froirTthose of A. grandis (with which species also A. 

 Lowiana has been associated), whose leaves moreover are devoid of stomata 

 on the upper surface. Cones of the same size as those of A. concolor, brown. 

 The name "lasiocarpa" is generally adopted in France. 



This is a handsome tree, introduced in 1851, and is now represented by 

 specimens 80 to 100 ft. high in various parts of the country. Cultivated trees 

 of A. concolor are not so large, but they are more striking in their richer 

 foliage and glaucous tint. The branching of A. Lowiana is mostly on one plane, 

 but in A. concolor the production of axillary buds renders the branching less 

 regular, and in this way shoots frequently appear midway along the shoot on 

 the upper side. 



A. MAGNIFICA, A. Murray. RED FlR. 



As represented by the finest specimens in this country, now 60 to 80 ft. 

 high, this tree has a slender pyramidal shape and is strikingly elegant ; young 

 shoots furnished with a minute down ; buds resinous at the top, more or less 

 concealed by leaves. Leaves I to if ins. long, ^i n - wide; glaucous green, with 

 stomata on all surfaces ; blunt, but not notched at the apex, nor grooved along 

 the upper surface. On old cone-bearing branches they are pointed, stiffer, 

 shorter, and diamond-shaped in cross-section. The leaves are crowded on the 

 top as much as on the sides of the shoot ; those on the top have their bases 

 flattened to, and nearly hiding the stem, then curve upwards. Cones 6 to 8 

 ins. long, about half as wide, purple when young, afterwards brown ; bracts 

 enclosed (except in the variety mentioned below). 



Native of Oregon and California ; introduced by Jeffrey in 1851. This 

 remarkable fir is seen at its best, perhaps, so far as the British Isles are 

 concerned, in Perthshire, where I have seen fine trees at Blair Atholl and 

 Abercairney, 60 to 70 ft. high. It thrives badly and is rare in the Thames 

 Valley. It has been much confused with A. nobilis (even associated with it as 

 "var. robusta"), but can be distinguished by its longer, never-grooved leaves. 



Var. XANTHOCARPA, Lemmon (var. shastensis, Lemmori). SHASTA RED 

 FlR. Is distinguished only by the shorter, thicker cones, having the bracts 

 conspicuously protruded. 



A. MARIESII, Masters. MARIES' FIR. 



A tree 40 to 50, occasionally 80, ft. high, of compact, pyramidal form ; 

 young shoots very densely covered with red-brown down, which persists 

 several years ; buds small, globose, completely encased in resin. Leaves \ to 

 i in. long, jV in. wide ; dark shining green and deeply grooved above ; glaucous 

 beneath, with two broad bands of stomata ; apex rounded and notched. The 

 lower ranks spread horizontally, whilst the upper and shorter ones point 

 forward and completely hide the shoot. Cones 3 to 4 ins. long, about 2 ins. 

 wide, rounded at the top, egg-shaped, purple when young ; bracts hidden 



Discovered on Mt. Hakkoda, in Japan, by Chas. Maries in 1878, and intro- 

 duced by him at the same time. It is one of the rarest of silver firs, and 



