Let's Know Some Trees 



fornia mountains, as does the closely 

 allied Bigcone Spruce. The hark is 

 thick, furrowed, and smoky brown, 

 and is used to some extent in tanning. 

 The leaves are flat and slightly 

 grooved and are usually deep yellow- 

 green, although in exposed dry areas 

 (especially in the Rocky Mountains) 



Fig. 6.— Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga 



TAXI FOLIA) 



they are often bluish. All of the 

 branches have long, drooping branch- 

 lets. The cones, 2 to 2% inches long, 

 have prominent, projecting, 3-pointed 

 bracts, which are of great assistance 

 in identification. 



Incense Cedar is the beautiful and 

 fragrant-foliaged tree so common in 

 both the Coast Range and Sierras. 

 The cinnamon-brown bark can be 

 pulled off in long strips and has even 

 been used for roofing cabins. The 

 leaves lie in flat fernlike sprays. The 

 tiny cones hold four little seeds 

 apiece, two on each side of the flat 

 central partition. The timber is very 

 durable when it can be found free of 

 the dry rot, which is its greatest 

 disease enemy. 



The Western Red Cedar is found 

 in the foggy northwest coast valleys. 

 Its foliage is very much like that of 

 the true cypresses, and its wood is 

 resistant to decay, making it valuable 

 for posts. 



The Big-tree (fig. 7), or Sequoia, 

 of the Sierras, that lives 2,500 years 

 or perhaps longer, attains heights of 

 200 to 280 feet, with trunk diameters 

 of 12 to 20 feet — in rare cases even 

 30 feet or more. The soft, red bark 

 is often 2 feet thick. The leaves are 

 small, blue-green, awl-shaped, and 

 grow in sprays. The beautiful cones 

 seem absurdly small for those great 



Fig. 7.— Bigtree (Sequoia 

 washingtoniana) 



columnar trunks to bring forth, and 

 are only about 2 inches long, while the 

 tiny seed itself is thin and flat. 



Redwood (fig. 8), the Sequoia of 

 the Coast Range, grows taller than 

 the Bigtree but is less in trunk di- 

 ameter, more tapering, and not so 

 long-lived, the oldest ring count in- 



