Burke: Abies procera vs. Abies bracteata

	Abies procera	Abies bracteata
	noble fir
Habit	A tall, symmetrical tree up to 70 m. tall, the branches short, stiff and spreading.
Bark	Bark readily flaking, grayish-brown, dark reddish-brown beneath.
Leaves	Leaves bluish-green to silvery, 1.5-3 cm. long, thicker in the middle, crowded, stiff and upturned, with two white bands on the lower surface and a single broad band on the upper.
Cones	Staminate cones reddish, pendant and catkin-like, 7-20 mm. long, on the lower side of branches near the middle of the tree or above; ovulate cones only near the top of the tree, single and erect, 11-13 cm. long and up 6 cm. thick, the scales dark reddish-brown, nearly concealed by ruffle-edged, slender-pointed, straw-colored to olive bracts.

	Abies procera	Abies bracteata
Habitat	Deep forests where there is sufficient moisture, moderate to fairly high elevations.
Distribution	Occurring chiefly west of the Cascades crest in Washington; northern Washington to the Siskiyou Mountains in northern California. [WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]	[WildflowerSearch map] [BONAP county map]
Origin	Native
Conservation status	Not of concern
Sibling taxa	A. amabilis, A. grandis, A. lasiocarpa	A. amabilis, A. grandis, A. lasiocarpa, A. procera
Web links	Local floras: CA, OR, WA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search	Local floras: CA Local Web sites: CalFlora, CalPhotos, Flora NW, PNW Herbaria WildflowerSearch iNaturalist (observations) USDA Plants Database LBJ Wildflower Center SEINet Plants of the World Online Encyclopedia of Life Wikipedia Google Image Search

Abies procera

Abies bracteata

noble fir

Habit

A tall, symmetrical tree up to 70 m. tall, the branches short, stiff and spreading.

Bark

Bark readily flaking, grayish-brown, dark reddish-brown beneath.

Leaves

Leaves bluish-green to silvery, 1.5-3 cm. long, thicker in the middle, crowded, stiff and upturned, with two white bands on the lower surface and a single broad band on the upper.

Cones

Staminate cones reddish, pendant and catkin-like, 7-20 mm. long, on the lower side of branches near the middle of the tree or above; ovulate cones only near the top of the tree, single and erect, 11-13 cm. long and up 6 cm. thick, the scales dark reddish-brown, nearly concealed by ruffle-edged, slender-pointed, straw-colored to olive bracts.