FOREST TREES OF THE 
MOUNT HOOD REGION. 
SOFTWOOD SPECIES. 
THE CONIFERS. 
Family CONIFER, 
PINES (Pinus). 
WESTERN WHITE PINE (Pinus monticola). 
Cylindrical trunk, clear of branches; bark (on trees 
over 1 foot in diameter) broken into small hexagonal 
blocks; needles, five in a bundle 4 inches long. 
Occasional tree at 1,000 to 4,000 feet elevation. 
WHITE BARK PINE (Pinus albicaulis). 
Low, long-branched, twisted, crooked trunk; needles 
five in a bundle 2 inches long. A timber-line tree 
growing on the highest timbered elevations in the 
Mount Hood region. 
WESTERN YELLOW PINE (Pinus ponderosa). 
Straight trunk, broad crown, heavy foliage; bark of 
old trees dull orange-yellow, broken into large irreg- 
ular plates; needles three in a bundle 7 inches long. 
On the Columbia River east from Bonneville. East 
of the Cascades up to 5,000 feet. 
LODGEPOLE PINE (Pinus contorta). 
Small tree, occurring often in dense stands. Slender, 
dense-grown stems were used by the Indians for tent 
poles, hence the name. Thin, scaly bark, needles 
two in a bundle 2 inches long. North side of Mount 
Hood, 3,100 to 5,000 feet. On south side from Gov- 
ernment Camp to 1,700 feet near Tollgate and at the 
mouth of the Sandy River. 
LARCHES (Lar1x). 
WESTERN LARCH (Larix occidentalis). 
Tapering trunk, open crown, foliage appears very scant. 
Needles 1 inch, 14 to 30 in a cluster, turn yellow 
and fall from tree in autumn. Only cone-bearing 
tree in this region which loses its leaves in the fall. 
On northeast and south sides of Mount Hood. 
SPRUCES (Picea). 
ENGLEMANN SPRUCE (Picea engelmanni). 
Straight, narrow, pyramidal crown; bark of trunk scaly; 
needles arranged singly on the twig, stiff, sharp- 
pointed, prickly. On Mount Hood 3,000 to 6,000 
feet, Badger Lake, and Brooks Meadow. 
(29) 
HEMLOCKS (Tsuca). 
WESTERN HEMLOCK (Tsuga heterophylla). 
Becomes large forest tree, clean, smooth, tapering trunk. 
Lower foliage in delicate, flat sprays, tip of tree always 
bent over, terminal branchlets always drooping; nee- 
dles flat, round tipped, half-inch long, dark green 
above, silvery underneath. Cones three-quarters 
inch long. Throughout the Mount Hood region up 
to 5,500 feet in moist situations. 
MOUNTAIN HEMLOCK (Tsuga mertensiana). 
Short alpine tree to timber line; trunk sharply tapering; 
needles densely clustered in star-like arrangement 
on the twig, not in flat sprays. Cones 2 inches long. 
Both slopes of the Cascade 5,500 to 7,000 feet. ‘Tim- 
ber line on Mount Hood. 
DOUGLAS FIR (PsEupoTsuGa). 
Douc.as Fir (Pseudotsuga taxifolia). 
The common large forest tree of this region. Thick 
brown bark with broad ridges and deep furrows; 
needles soft, pointed, but not prickly; cones about 3 
inches long, with three-pointed, leaf-like scales pro- 
truding from between the cone scales. Throughout 
the Mount Hood region to 6,000 feet, north side of 
Hood to 3,800 feet, on south side up to Government 
Camp. 
FIRS (Astgs). 
ALPINE FIR (Abies lasiocarpa). 
The common fir of the timber line. Long, narrow, con- 
ical crown, terminating in a conspicuous spirelike 
point. North side of Mount Hood from 3,700 feet to 
timber line. South side from timber line to Govern- 
ment Camp. 
LOWLAND WHITE FIR (Abies grandis). 
Fair-sized tree; bark ashy gray in young tree, smooth 
like alder bark; in old trees broken into narrow ridges 
and furrows. Needles broad, flat, grooved, and 
notched at the tip. Lustrous dark green above, sil- 
very below. Bark of young twigs distinctly greenish 
yellow. Lower slopes of Mount Hood. General up 
to 4,000 feet. 
