Illustrations of Conifers. 



ABIES BRACTEATA (Nuttall). BRISTLE-CONE FIE. 



Gardeners' Chronicle, Vol. V. series 8, p. 242 (1889). 



Veitch's Man. Conif. ed. 2, p. 498 (1900). 



Trees of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. IV. p. 796 (1909). 



A TREE attaining a height of 100-150 feet with a trunk 1-3 feet in 

 diameter. Bark greyish-brown, smooth. Branches short, pendulous 

 and closely set, the lower ones often sweeping the ground and com- 

 pletely hiding the trunk, forming a tree with a pyramidal outline below 

 and a narrow spire-like head. 



Buds different in character from all the other species of Abies, 

 spindle-shaped, f inch long, non-resinous, composed of loose, light 

 brown membranous scales. Leaves often 2 inches long, linear and 

 rigid with long stiff cartilaginous points, white with stomata beneath. 

 Cones 3-4 inches long by 1 J-2 inches broad, remarkable for the long 

 spine-like points of the scale bracts which protrude nearly two inches, 

 and are often covered with globules of resin. 



This handsome tree is one of the most beautiful of the genus and at 

 the same time one of the rarest. It occurs wild only in the Santa Lucia 

 mountains, California, at elevations of about 3,000 feet, where it was 

 discovered by Coulter in 1830. According to Professor Sargent, its 

 extermination in its native habitat is threatened by the destructive 

 fires which are so frequent in the dry coast ranges of S. California. 



Fortunately Abies bracteata grows well and produces its remark- 

 able cones in the milder parts of England, where there are now a fair 

 number of healthy trees. It was introduced into cultivation in 1853 

 by Wm. Lobb. 



A specimen planted at Bayfordbury in 1906 is thriving. The 

 photograph is that of a cone gathered from a fine tree at High Canons, 

 Herts. 



