Noble Fir 83 



yellowish green, slightly hairy, becoming smooth, reddish brown, and when older, 

 gray. The winter buds are ovoid, sharp-pointed, 10 mm. long, their scales light 

 brown. The leaves are mostly 4-sided, narrowly linear, rounded or bluntly pointed, 

 2 to 4 cm. long, pale green, with a bloom the first season, becoining blue-green 

 with age; they vary greatly in size, shape, and position, and are said to persist 

 for ten years. The staminate flowers are cylindric, 12 to 20 mm. long, of a deep 

 purplish color, the pistillate being oblong, 3 to 4 cm. long, and reddish brown. 

 The cones are the largest of the genus, oblong-cylindric, narrowed toward the 

 base and the rounded flat or indented apex, 15 to 25 cm. long, short-hairy, pur- 

 plish or yellowish; the scales are stalked, about 4 cm. wide and somewhat longer 

 than wide, gradually narrowed to the heart-shaped base; the bracts are one third 

 shorter than the scales, oblong or spatulate, sharp tipped, slightly toothed above 

 the middle. The seed is dark brown, 15 to 18 mm. long, with a shining broadly 

 wedge-shaped wing. 



The wood is soft, weak, quite durable, reddish brown and shining; its specific 

 gravity is about 0.47. It is much used in California for construction and for fuel. 



This tree, truly magnificent at any stage of its long life, thrives in England 

 and France, but it does not do well in the eastern United States. 



8. SHASTA FIR — Abies shastensis Lemmon 



Also called Shasta red fir, this occurs in the mountains of southern Oregon and northern 

 California, especially on Mt. Shasta, where it forms exclusive forests at an altitude of 1800 to 

 2400 meters. It has been considered by some as a variety of the California red fir, which it 

 resembles in foliage. The cones resemble those of the Noble fir, but it grows at higher' alti- 

 tudes and is smaller, its maximum height being 60 meters, with a trunk diameter of 1.2 meters. 



The bark is very rough and almost black. The mostly 4-sided leaves are about 2 cm. long, 

 nearly 2 mm. thick, usually erect, incurved, and light green. The oblong cones are 13 to 15 cm. 

 long, rounded at both ends, and purple, their scales 3.5 cm. wide, about the same length, 

 broadly rounded and revolute at the apex, abruptly contracted just above the middle, also near 

 the base into a long stalk; the bracts are spatulate, irregularly toothed, and abruptly taper- 

 pointed; the tip is almost 10 mm. wide and projects about the same distance beyond the scales, 

 over which it is usually reflexed and of a bright yellow color. The seed is nearly oval, about 15 

 mm. long; its wing is obliquely obovate in outline, straight on one side, about 25 mm. long and 

 IS mm. broad. 



The wood is soft, not strong, close-grained, reddish brown, its specific gravity about 0.41. 



9. NOBLE FIR — Abies nobilis Lindley 



This tree, also called Red fir, Noble red fir. Feather cone fir, Bracted fir, and 

 erroneously Larch by lumbermen, grows in northern California, Oregon and Wash- 

 ington, where it inhabits mountains at elevations of from 750 to 1500 meters, 

 sometimes forming the bulk of the forest and attaining the height of 90 meters, 

 with a trunk diameter of 3 meters. 



The main branches are short, stiff, and rather far apart; the smaller branches 

 are also remote, forming a rather open, conic tree. The bark, which is from 3 to 



