The wood is light, soft, free from pitch, and the most valuable of any of the pines of the Cascades. It is used for interior finish, pattern making, and other purposes. The supply of this tree is so limited that it is not of great commercial importance in the Mount Rainier region.
AMABILIS FIR (ABIES AMABILIS).[2]
Amabilis fir ([figs. 9] and [10]) ranges from southern Alaska to Oregon. It is abundant in the park at elevations from 2,500 to 5,000 feet on level bench lands, and gentle slopes with a northern exposure. It is rarely found in unmixed stands, but is usually associated with western hemlock, Douglas fir, and noble fir. The largest trees are 150 to 180 feet high and 3 to 5 feet in diameter. In dense forests the stem is free from branches for 50 to 100 feet.
Fig. 9.—Amabilis fir (Abies amabilis).
At altitudes over 4,000 feet, small amabilis firs often occur in clusters and open groves. The trunk is covered with branches which grow to the ground, turning downward and outward in long graceful curves, admirably adapted to withstand the pressure of the frozen snow. The foliage is a deep and brilliant green, forming a strong contrast to the dark-purple cones. The seeds ripen each year early in October. Like the seed of the other alpine species of trees that grow in the cold and humid climate of the high Cascades, they soon lose their vitality when stored in dry places. The amabilis fir is grown in Europe as an ornamental tree. Under cultivation it loses much of the natural grace and beauty which it acquired in adapting itself to the deep snows and long winters of its native environment.
