262 THE CULTIVATED EVERGREENS 



feet tall; bark smooth gray, on old trees fissured and scaly; winter-buds 

 globose, resinous; branclilets yellowish-green, minutely pubescent or nearly 

 glabrous: leaves irregularly arranged, mostly spreading outward and curving 

 upward, some of the middle ranks above directed forward, linear, acute, 

 or rounded at apex, 13^-2 inches long, bluish-green, slightly convex and 

 stomatiferous above, not grooved, convex and with pale bands beneath: 

 cones cylindric, 3-5 inches long, narrowed at the ends, greenish or purplish 

 before maturity; scales about 1 inch wide; bracts hidden. Colorado to 

 southern California, northern Mexico and New Mexico. — Introduced in 1872 

 to the Eastern States and to Em-ope. Hardy as far north as southern Ontario 

 and New England. This is the most satisfactory of American firs for culti- 

 vation ia the Eastern States and withstands heat and drought better than 

 any other fir. 



Var. violacea, Beiss. Ptjrplecone White F. With bluish-white foliage. 



Var. argentea, Niemetz. With silvery-white foliage. 



Var. Wattezii, Beiss. Foliage first pale yellowish, changing to silvery- 

 white. 



Var. globosa, Beiss. Of globose habit, with short branches. 



Var. Lowiana, Lemm. (A. Lowiana, Murr. A. Parsonsiana, Barron. A. 

 concolor var. lasiocarpa, Engelm. & Sarg. A. lasiocarpa. Mast., not Nutt.). 

 Pacific White F. Tree to 250 feet tall; winter-buds smaller: leaves pec- 

 tinately arranged, 2-3 inches long, rounded and bifid at apex, shallowly 

 grooved above. Oregon to California. — Introduced in 1851 to Great Britain. 

 Much tenderer than the type. 



30. A. nobilis, Lindl. Noble F. Tree to 250 feet tall; bark reddish- 

 brown, deeply fissured, smooth in young trees; winter-buds resinous, the 

 outer scales narrow and acuminate; branchlets minutely rusty-pubescent: 

 leaves crowded above, the lower ranks spreading outward, the middle ranks 

 much shorter, appressed to the branchlets near the base, then curving up- 

 ward, linear, rounded and entire or slightly emarginate at apex, 1-1 3^ inches 

 long, bluish-green, stomatiferous and grooved above, with narrow pale 

 bands beneath: cones cylindric-oblong, slightly narrowed toward the apex, 

 6-10 inches long, green before maturity, becoming purplish-brown; scales 

 iM-lM inches wide; bracts much exserted and reflexed. Washington to 

 northern California. — Introduced in 1830 to Great Britain. Hardy as far 

 north as Massachusetts in sheltered positions. 



Var. glauca, Beiss. Blue Noble F. With glaucous foliage. 



31. A. magnifica, Murr. (A. nobilis var. magnifica, Kellogg). Red F. 

 Tree to 200 feet tall; winter-buds and branchlets like those of the preceding 

 species: leaves less crowded, quadrangular in section, rounded and entire 

 at apex, keeled and stomatiferous above, with pale bands beneath: cones 

 cylindric-oblong, 6-9 mches long, pubescent, purplish-violet before maturity; 



