30 
The name white fir, however, belongs more properly to Abies concolor, 
for which it is probably more commonly and widely used than for 
any of the other white-barked western firs. It is probable that lay 
people- often apply the name white fir to A. grandis believing it to be 
A. concolor. In the absence of a distinctive common name for A. 
grandis, " grand fir," derived from the tree's specific technical name, 
is adopted here as suitable, because Abies grandis is a very stately and 
grand tree when fully matured. 
Lewis and Clark 1 were probably the first to discover the grand 
fir in 1S05 while crossing the Bitter Eoot Mountains, this tree doubt- 
less being one of the " eight different species of pine " mentioned in 
their narrative. David Douglas, an intrepid Scotch explorer of 
our Northwest, is said to have found this fir near the mouth of the 
Columbia River in 1825, seeds of which he sent to England in 1831 
or 1832. 2 The grand fir was first technically described and named 
Abies grandis Lindley in 1833, since which time this name has been 
uniformly maintained by botanists. Some early writers, however, 
confused grand fir with the white fir (Abies concolor'). while even 
now a few students of trees find difficulty in distinguishing the two 
species where their ranges come together. 3 
Two horticultural varieties of grand fir, Abies grandis aurifolia 
and A. grandis crassa, have been distinguished in cultivation by a 
German dendrologist. The first of these is characterized by its 
yellowish foliage and in the other form by the compact shape of 
its crown. 
DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS. 
In such favorable situations as moist bottom lands grand fir 
grows to a height of from 150 to 200 and, exceptionally, 250 to 275 
feet, with a diameter of from 3 to 4 feet. Somewhat taller trees 
occur, but they are rare. On the less favorable hill lands the greatest 
height attained is from 80 to 125 feet, with a diameter of from 18 to 
30 inches. The trunk is remarkably straight and tapers very grad- 
ually. When standing alone or in an open forest even old trees 
often retain their branches down to within a few feet of the ground ; 
but in a close stand the crown covers only one-half or one-third of 
the stem. The crown is a narrow, rather open cone, pointed in 
young trees and somewhat rounded at the top in old ones. Because 
of the strong drooping of the lower branches, the crown of old trees 
appears wider in the middle. The rounded top of well- advanced 
1 History of the Expedition under Command of Lewis and Clark, II, 457 (ed. Coues). 
2 Elwes and Henry, Trees of Great Britain and Ireland, IV, 774, 1909. 
3 Abies grandis was first introduced into England in about 1831, and, according to 
Elwes and Henry (1. c), it grows best of all of our fir trees in England, Scotland, and 
Ireland, where there are many trees 80 to 90 feet high planted 40 to 50 or more years 
ago. It is also said to thrive in parts of Denmark and Germany. 
