Part 10 (1/2)

HABIT.--A tree 50-70 feet high, with a trunk diameter of 1-3 feet; forming a dense, conical, spire-topped crown of numerous, drooping branches which persist nearly to the ground.

LEAVES.--Spirally arranged along the twig; crowded; 3/4-1 inch long; rigid, curved, acute; l.u.s.trous, dark green. Persistent 5-7 years.

FLOWERS.--May; monoecious; the staminate ovoid to subglobose, long-stalked, reddish to yellowish, 3/4-1 inch long; the pistillate cylindrical, sessile, erect, 1-1/2-2 inches long.

FRUIT.--Autumn of first season; sessile, cylindrical cones 3-6 inches long, pendent from the tips of the uppermost branches; sterile scales very short, toothed; seeds red-brown, rough, 1/8 inch long, with long wings.

WINTER-BUDS.--Ovoid, acute, red-brown, not resinous, about 3/8 inch long.

BARK.--Twigs red- or orange-brown, smooth or corrugated; becoming thin and gray-brown on old trunks, slightly fissured, scaly.

WOOD.--Light, strong, tough, elastic, soft, fine-grained, white, with thick, indistinguishable sapwood.

NOTES.--Grows to a height of 120-150 feet in northern Europe and Asia.

Perfectly hardy in Michigan. Easily transplanted. Adapts itself to a variety of soils and climates. Grows rapidly, but is short-lived in our country. Desirable for ornamental planting. Useful for shelter belts.

[Ill.u.s.tration: +Balsam Fir+

1. Winter branchlet, 1.

2-3. Leaves, 2.

4. Cross-section of leaf, enlarged.

5. Unopened cone, 1.

6. Cone-scale with seeds, 1.]

+PINACEAE+

+Balsam Fir+

_Abies balsamea (L.) Mill._

HABIT.--A slender tree 40-60 feet high, with a trunk diameter of 12-18 inches; branches in whorls of 4-6, forming a symmetrical, open crown widest at the base and tapering regularly upward.

LEAVES.--Scattered, spirally arranged in rows, on young trees extending from all sides of the branch, on old trees covering the upper side of the branch; narrowly linear, with apex acute or rounded; 1/2-1-1/4 inches long; l.u.s.trous, dark green above, pale beneath; sessile; aromatic. Persistent 8-10 years.

FLOWERS.--May; monoecious; the staminate oblong-cylindrical, yellow, 1/4 inch long, composed of yellow anthers (subtended by scales) spirally arranged upon a central axis; the pistillate oblong-cylindrical, 1 inch long, composed of orbicular, purple scales (subtended by yellow-green bracts) spirally arranged upon a central axis.

FRUIT.--Autumn of first season; oblong-cylindrical, erect, p.u.b.erulous, dark purple cones, 2-4 inches long, about 1 inch thick; seeds 1/4 inch long, shorter than their light brown wings.

WINTER-BUDS.--Globose, orange-green, resinous, 1/8-1/4 inch in diameter.

BARK.--Twigs at first grayish and p.u.b.escent, becoming gray-brown and smooth; thin and smooth on young trunks, pale gray-brown and marked by swollen resin chambers; red-brown on old trunks and somewhat roughened by small, scaly plates.

WOOD.--Very light, soft, weak, coa.r.s.e-grained, perishable, pale brown, with thick, lighter colored sapwood.

DISTRIBUTION.--Occasional in the southern half of the Lower Peninsula, frequent in the northern half; abundant in the Upper Peninsula.