Bristle Cone Fir 



85 



The wood is hard, strong, rather close-grained and Hght brown; its specific 

 gravity is about 0.45. It is sometimes sawed into lumber, and under the name of 

 "larch" is used to a small extent in construction and for boxes. 



This tree grows well in England, producing its cones in great abundance; it 

 also sometimes thrives in the middle Atlantic States, but is not hardy northward. 



10. BRISTLE CONE FIR Abies venusta (Douglas) Koch 

 Pinus venusta Douglas. Pimis bracteata D. Don. Abies bracteata Nuttall 



This, the most pecuHar, as well as the rarest of the North American Fir trees, 

 is also called Santa Lucia fir, Silver fir, and Fringed spruce. It seems to be re- 

 stricted to Monterey county, California, where it occurs but sparingly on the 

 rocky slopes and in canons of the Santa Lucia Mountains at elevations of 450 to 

 1500 meters, attaining 

 a maximum height of 

 45 meters, with a 

 trunk diameter of 9 

 dm. 



The branches are 

 rather stout, far apart, 

 and somewhat droop- 

 ing, their branchlets 

 crooked and rather 

 remote, forming an 

 open conic tree con- 

 tracted above into a 

 narrow head, unHke 

 any others of its ge- 

 nus. The bark is ir- 

 regularly fissured and 

 broken into closely ad- 

 hering scales of a red- 

 brown color and often 

 marked by the re- 

 mains of old resin "blisters," which are quite abundant on the thinner younger 

 bark. The stout twigs are smooth, light red-brown, and covered with a bloom. 

 The ovoid winter buds are 2.5 cm. long, 5 to 8 mm. thick, sharp-pointed, and loosely 

 covered by large pale-brown papery scales, the innermost ones persisting for some 

 time at the base of the newly formed twig. The stiff leaves, which usually spread 

 outwardly, are flat, linear, narrowed above, 4 to 6 cm. long, 2.5 to 3 mm. wide, 

 long taper-pointed, narrowed to a disk-like base, marked by a central groove, yel- 

 lowish green and shining on the upper side, silvery white beneath; those on older 

 fertile branchlets have strongly recurved margins; on falhng they leave an oval scar 



Fig. 65. Bristle Cone Fir. 



