Description

Leaves: Needles borne singly; 1-1/2" to 2" long; flattened in cross-section; evergreen; dark-green above, white below; somewhat flattened arrangement along branchlets.

Twigs/buds: Twigs slender; glabrous when older; yellow-green to brown.  Buds 1/8" to 1/4" long; sticky.

Flowers/fruit: Monoecious.  Fruit a cone; 2" to 4-1/2" long; cylindrical; yellow-green to purple; borne more-or-less upright on upper branches; scales deciduous.

Bark: Thin; smooth; gray; with resinous blisters; eventually becoming furrowed, ridged, and red-brown on older trunks.

Wood: Moderate importance; soft and brittle; whitish; even grained; growth rings distinct.

General: Native to coastal Pacific Northwest and Cascade Mountains and to northern Rockies as far south as central Idaho; not Utah.  Like other firs, prefers moist, cool, protected sites.  Moderately shade tolerant.

Landscape Use: Unusual in Utah except as cut Christmas trees shipped in from the Northwest.  I included it here because I saw one growing at the University of Utah (pictured here) doing quite well, and we can use all of the conifer variety we can get.  Though the one at the UofU was pretty open-grown, I assume some protection would be in order, as with all firs.  The one at the UofU was attractive, though a little less evenly conical than white fir; nice dark-green needles with white on the underside.  Zones 5-7.

Characteristics