Fig. 35.—The upright spine-bearing cone of the Silver Fir, Abies pectinata. The cones vary from this size to one-third as long again. (Copied from Veitch's "Manual of the Coniferæ," by kind permission of Messrs. Veitch.)
Fig. 36.—a, Structure of the female cone of the Silver Fir. A single cone-scale, OVS, with its reflected and pointed "bract," br, seen from the outer surface; st, stalk.
b, The same seen from the inner surface; letters as before, and in addition OV, one of the pair of naked seeds; W, its wing.
c, The same in section, showing well the reflected or turned-over spine-like end of the bract; letters as before.
d, One of the winged seeds detached.
There are many "spruces," other species of the genus Picea, from various parts of Europe, temperate Asia, and North America, which are cultivated in English parks and gardens. Such are the American white and red and black spruces, the Siberian, the Oriental, the Servian, and the tiger's-tail Japanese spruce. Then there is the beautiful variety of the blue American spruce, Picea pungens. The blue-grey colour of the needles is frequently obtained as a "variety" in the cultivation of different species of conifers, as also is the yellow, or golden-leaved, condition.
Fig. 37.
A, The female cone of the
Common Spruce, Picea excelsa.
Half the natural size
(linear measurement).
It hangs from its attachment
instead of standing up as
does the cone of the silver fir.
B, Ripe cone-scale of the Common
Spruce, detached and seen from
the inner face, so as to show the
two winged seeds. Enlarged.
In the genus Abies, associated with the silver fir, are a whole series of American, Siberian, and Japanese species. An interesting one is the Californian Abies bracteata, which has thornlike processes on the cone 2 inches in length, corresponding to the re-curved spines on the cone of the silver fir. It was introduced into England in 1853, and specimens are growing in Eastnor Park, near Ledbury. The beautiful pinsapo of the Spanish Sierra Nevada also belongs to the genus Abies, and may be seen in some English plantations. The Tsuga firs of Japan and North America are related to Abies, but are now placed in a separate genus (Tsuga), as also is the Douglas fir of North America (Pseudotsuga), which has been extensively planted in Great Britain. The Douglas fir is readily recognized by the decorative trifid outer scales or "bracts" of the rather short cone ([Fig. 42]). When freshly grown these cones have beautiful purple tints mingled with pale green.
