640 
MONOECIA MONADELPHIAo 
glabrous, though pubescent when young. Cones very small, terminal, with 
smooth imbricate scales. 
Even when this tree is abundant its wood is little valued. Its grain is 
said by Michaux to be irregular and almost spirally contorted, arid it decays 
soon when exposed to the weather. It is therefore only used where better 
timber cannot be procured. Its bark is extensively used for tanning, and is 
valuable though inferior to the oak. It is generally known as the Hemlock 
Spruce, or Pine. 
In the Southern States this tree is confined to the highest ridges and val- 
lies of the Alleghany Mountains. 
Flowers April — May. 
11. Nigra. Aiton. 
P. foliis solitariis, 
tetragonis, undique 
sparsis, erectis, strictis; 
strobilis ovatis, squam- 
is ellipticis, margine 
undulatis, apice eroso- 
denticulatis. 
Leaves solitary, 4- 
angled, scattered on all 
sides, erect, straight; 
cones ovate, scales el- 
liptic, undulate along 
the margin, the summit 
denticulate. 
Sp. pi. 4. p. 506. Pursh, 2. p. 640. Nutt. 2. p. 223. 
Abies Denticulata, Mich. 2. p. 206. 
Icon. Abies Nigra. Mich. arb. for. 1. p. 123. 
This fir, in favourable situations, also becomes a fine tree, attaining some- 
times 60 — 80 feet in height, and 12—18 inches in diameter, generally form- 
ing a handsome pyramid at summit. Leaves very numerous, scarcely ex- 
ceeding half an inch in length, of a very dark green. Cones oval, 1 — 2 
inches long, growing near the extremities of the small branches, generally 
turned towards the earth. Scales imbricate, broad, the margins crenulate 
or divided. 
The tall slender bodies of this tree are extensively used for the spars of 
vessels, and from its young branches principally the spruce of commerce is 
prepared. In the sphagnous swamps among the Mountains in the north- 
eastern districts of the United States, the fir is very abundant. In the South- 
ern States it is rare, and confined to the high ridges of the Alleghany Moun- 
tains. 
Flowers April— May. 
12. Alba. Aiton. 
P. foliis solitariis te- Leaves solitary, 4- 
tragonis, incurvis; stro- angled, incurved; cones 
