S$ WEST-AMERICAN 



Class B ERECTES 



/ 



ERECT FRUITED SOLITARES. 



True Firs and Their One Ally. 



Noble trees with branches mostly in horizontal 

 whorls or circles; cones mostly erect upon the upper- 

 most limbs, the scales deciduous. 



Two genera, Abies and Keteleeria, the latter a 

 curious genus of three species, local in China, the 

 other (Abies) a large genus widely distributed. 



Sixth Genus, ABIES 



THE TRUE FIRS. 



Mostly magnificent trees with branches arising in 

 symmetrical, horizontal whorls and forming fan-like 

 strata of dense foliage; the leaves very short, mostly 

 two-ranked on young trees and lower branches, but 

 erect and crowded along the upper side of upper 

 branches. Cones erect, lateral, sessile, nearly cylin- 

 drical, axillary from the upper side of mostly the 



