14 Illustrations of Conifers. 



ABIES GRANDIS (Lindley). GIANT FIR. 



Gardeners' Chronicle, Vol. XV. p. 179 (1881), with jigs. 



Veitch't Man. Conif. ed. 2, p. 510 (1900). 



Trees of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. IV. p. 778 (1909j. 



A VERY tall fir attaining in America a height of 300 feet and a girth 

 of 16 feet. Bark in young trees smooth, but becoming fissured with 

 age. Branchlets olive green, smooth, with a minute pubescence. Buds 

 small, conical, resinous. 



Leaves on lateral branchlets in a flat, pectinate arrangement, 

 spreading in two lateral sets in one plane, the lower leaves twice as 

 long as the upper, linear, up to 2 inches long, with a rounded and 

 notched apex ; upper surface dark shining green, grooved ; lower sur- 

 face with two white bands of stomata. The leaves when bruised 

 have an aromatic scent. 



Cones cylindric, 2 to 4 inches long by 1 to \\ inch in diameter, 

 slightly narrowed at the obtuse apex, light-green with concealed bracts ; 

 scales closely imbricated, crescent-shaped to fan-shaped, shortly clawed, 

 bracts small, quadrangular, apiculate. Seed with wing about f inch 

 long. 



This fine tree, which grows very fast in its own country and in 

 cultivation, is a native of the north - west coast of America from 

 Vancouver Island through Washington and Oregon to the Mendo- 

 cino Country, California ; and spreads inland to the Coeur d' Alene and 

 Bitter-root Mountains of Idaho and Montana, where it reaches an 

 altitude of 4,000 feet. 



Abies grandis was discovered on the Columbia River in 1825 

 by Douglas who sent seeds to the Horticultural Society, but very 

 few of these germinated and it was not until 1851 that a further 

 supply was received from Lobb. There are now many fine trees of 

 this fir in the British Isles. 



The specimen at Bayfordbury planted in 1849, has attained a 

 height of 73 feet by 5 feet 9 inches in girth. The cone figured was 

 obtained from a tree at Youngsbury, Ware. 



