Abies 787 



long, with similarly coloured obovate-cuneate wings, which in cultivated specimens 

 are considerably longer than the body of the seed. 



This tree can only be confused with A. magnifica, which has a different 

 habit. The difference between these two trees in the shape and disposition of the 

 leaves is given in the Key, p. 718, (A. H.) 



Distribution 



According to Sargent, this species forms extensive forests on the Cascade 

 Mountains in Washington, extending southwards to the valley of the Mackenzie 

 River, Oregon. It also occurs on the coast ranges of Washington, and the Siskiyou 

 Mountains of California. It is most abundant on the western slopes of the Cascade 

 Mountains, and ranges from 2500 to 5000 feet above sea level, attaining its largest 

 size at 3000 to 4000 feet. It is less abundant and of smaller size on the northern 

 and eastern slopes of these mountains. It commonly attains 200 feet in height ; and 

 often grows to 250 feet; Sheldon says, even to 300 feet. 



In the Cascade Range Forest Reserve^ the noble fir forms about 6 per cent of 

 the total, and is an important element in the mixed forests of the middle zone on the 

 western slope, where it often comprises 15 or 20 per cent of the forest. It crosses 

 the summit in lat, 45° where a moist climate prevails, but cannot compete with 

 pine and larch in the drier areas. It is closely associated with the lovely fir, and 

 among lumbermen both species are called larch. Some individuals attain as much 

 as 8 feet in diameter, but the average size is about 1 50 feet high by 1 2 feet in girth at 

 the base. Langille states ^ that this tree cannot hold its' own against the lovely fir 

 {A. amabilis) and hemlock, which are superseding it, and that a sapling is seldom seen. 

 A tree growing at 6000 feet elevation was 163 years old and 125 feet in height, with 

 a diameter of 4 feet 5 inches at the base. 



In the forests of Mt. Rainier in Washington, Plummer says that the noble fir 

 is the finest timber tree and is found from 1800 to 5200 feet. The largest that he 

 measured was 225 feet by 18 feet. But when I ascended this mountain from 

 Longmire's Springs I did not see it, or perhaps I did not distinguish it in the 

 absence of cones from Abies amabilis. In the watershed of the Washougal and 

 Rock Creek rivers, however, which are very heavily timbered, it forms, according to 

 Plummer, 25 per cent of the timber. The cones here measure about 42- inches long 

 by 2\ inches wide, not so large as some I have seen in England. 



I saw this tree at its best in the Cascade Mountains above Bridal Veil in 

 northern Oregon in June 1904. In this district the tree is known to the lumber- 

 men as larch, and grows in thick forest, more or less mixed with Douglas fir and 

 hemlock ; with Acer circinatum and other shrubs as underwood, where there is light 

 enough for any to exist. The largest trees I saw here were above 200 feet in 

 height, and were clear of branches for at least two-thirds of their height, as in the 

 illustration, which was taken from a tree at this place which measured 210 feet by 13 



1 Forest Conditions of the Cascade Range Forest Reserve, U.S. Geological Survey, Washington, 1903. 



2 Ibid. p. 35. 



