Fig. 10.—The forests of western hemlock, amabilis fir, and other species, on the middle slopes of the mountains, along the Crater Lake trail, Mount Rainier National Park.
Photograph by Geo. O. Ceasar.
The bark is thin and the tree is easily killed by fire. The wood is straw colored, compact, and straight grained. It is not strong and splits easily. It is sold to some extent under the name of larch or mixed with inferior grades of fir and hemlock. The lumber is of little value commercially.
NOBLE FIR (ABIES NOBILIS).
The noble fir ([figs. 11] and [12]) is a common mountain tree in the western parts of Washington and Oregon. Like amabilis fir, it is usually called larch by lumbermen. About Mount Rainier it grows at elevations of from 3,500 to 5,000 feet in dense stands associated with amabilis fir, western hemlock, and Douglas fir. The noble fir avoids steep side hills and exposed situations. In moist soils on flats and gentle slopes it often reaches a height of from 150 to 200 feet. The tall and upright trunk supports a rounded crown of bluish green foliage, which is very noticeable among the purer green leaves of its associates. The branches are short, thick, and crowded with stiff, flattened leaves, which turn upward and outward. The light-green bract-covered cones are sometimes 6 inches long and nearly 3 inches thick. They ripen early in September. Seed is borne every year, although in some seasons it is much more abundant than in others.
Fig. 11.—Noble fir (Abies nobilis).