PINACEAE
Balsam Fir
Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.
HABIT.—A slender tree 40-60 feet high, with a trunk diameter of 12-18 inches; branches in whorls of 4-6, forming a symmetrical, open crown widest at the base and tapering regularly upward.
LEAVES.—Scattered, spirally arranged in rows, on young trees extending from all sides of the branch, on old trees covering the upper side of the branch; narrowly linear, with apex acute or rounded; 1/2-1-1/4 inches long; lustrous, dark green above, pale beneath; sessile; aromatic. Persistent 8-10 years.
FLOWERS.—May; monoecious; the staminate oblong-cylindrical, yellow, 1/4 inch long, composed of yellow anthers (subtended by scales) spirally arranged upon a central axis; the pistillate oblong-cylindrical, 1 inch long, composed of orbicular, purple scales (subtended by yellow-green bracts) spirally arranged upon a central axis.
FRUIT.—Autumn of first season; oblong-cylindrical, erect, puberulous, dark purple cones, 2-4 inches long, about 1 inch thick; seeds 1/4 inch long, shorter than their light brown wings.
WINTER-BUDS.—Globose, orange-green, resinous, 1/8-1/4 inch in diameter.
BARK.—Twigs at first grayish and pubescent, becoming gray-brown and smooth; thin and smooth on young trunks, pale gray-brown and marked by swollen resin chambers; red-brown on old trunks and somewhat roughened by small, scaly plates.
WOOD.—Very light, soft, weak, coarse-grained, perishable, pale brown, with thick, lighter colored sapwood.