se trees in the fact that the needles, which are 

 1 apex, fall entirely from the branchlets and leave 

 small oval scars. In the 

 latter character they re- 

 semble the balsam firs, 

 although the leaf scars 

 are usually smaller and are 

 oval in shape across the 

 b r a n e h 1 e t . The cones 

 resemble those of the 

 spi uces in that they are 

 pendulous or hanging and 

 that they do not break up 

 when mature as in the firs. 

 The Douglas fir cones differ 

 from those of the spruces in 

 the presence of slender, 

 toothed bracts which project 

 from between the scales 

 giving the cones a feathered 

 appearance. This character 

 is so prominent that these 

 trees can be quite easily 

 recognized as far as the de- 

 tails of the cones are visible. 

 Only two species in this 

 genus occur in North Amer- 

 ica, one of which occurs in 



Colorado. 



(1 cone. 



DOIXJLAS SPRTCK;, DOTGLAS FIR, RED FIR. 



/'.vr udntxitfiti 111 iicroiKi Id (Kaf. ) Sndw. 



This tree is known by a number of common names throughout its 

 range. It is a common tree in the hills and mountains of the greater 

 portion of the North west, from liritish Columbia and Alberta on the 

 north to Northern Mexico and Texas on the south. When young, it is a 

 tree of conical form with bright green foliage in which condition it re- 

 sembles the gn < n forms of the blue spruce. In age, the crown becomes 

 quite ragged and open and the branches have a tendency to droop some- 

 v. hat. It nadirs its greatest si/e in the moist climate near the coast of 

 the Pacific Northw<st and in the western foothills of the Cascade Moun- 

 tains, where it not infrequently reaches a height of 200 feet or more 

 \\itli a t ru nl-; sometimes ten to twelve feet in diameter. In that region 

 it grows remarkably straight and witli clear trunks suitable for masts and 

 spars of sailing vessels and for tall ilagstaffs. In the drier inland regions 

 it is seldom found growing to a height of more than 100 feet and with a 

 diameter of two or three feet. 



