Plant Description
Forms a perfect pyramid when young and growing in the open. Large fir with a silvery bluish-green, narrow crown. Branches at crown are short, symmetrical and horizontal. Densely clothed with branches nearly to the ground. Trunk diameter of 2 to 3 feet.
Tree with a spire-like crown that becomes rounder with age. Twigs without hairs when young; grayish-green cones; leaf resin ducts near epidermis; needles spirally arranged but appear 2-ranked; gray bark thickens with age into deep longitudinal furrows.
Habitat
Rocky slopes, coniferous forests.
Leaves
Needles are pale bluish-green or grayish-green, flat to 3 inches long, spreading and curved upward; appear to be in 2 rows but are actually spirally arranged.
Flowers
Gymnosperm, does not have flowers.
Fruit
Male and female cones on same tree; male (pollen) cones less than 1/2 inch long, dark red, sometimes yellow; female (seed) cones oblong-cylindric, up to 5 inches long, yellowish-green, broadly winged, point upward in the top branches.