"96 



FOREST TREES OF THE PACIFIC SLOPE. 



cones, also stunted, are erect when mature. Cones ( fig. 35, a ) vary in length from 

 about' one-half inch to 3 inches ; commonly they are about 2 inches long and 

 three-fourths of an inch thick before opening. At maturity they are yellowish- 

 green to a bluish purple. Great variation exists in the color of cones at matu- 



rity. Different trees of the same forest may each have wholly different colored 

 mature cones; but the color is a transient character and there is no other dif- 

 ference between such trees. When the cones open, and afterwards, they are 

 dull to light brown, the scales spreading strongly at right angles to the cone 



