Wood and Forest Part 15

[Ill.u.s.tration: Radial Section, life size.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Cross-section, magnified 37-1/2 diameters.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Tangential Section, life size.]

[Footnote A: Not in Jesup Collection.]

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DOUGLAS SPRUCE. OREGON PINE. RED FIR. DOUGLAS FIR.

_Pseudotsuga mucronata_ (Rafinesque) Sudworth.

_Pseudotsuga taxifolia_ (Lambert) Britton.

_Pseudotsuga_ means false hemlock; _mucronata_ refers to abrupt short point of leaf; _taxifolia_ means yew leaf.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Habitat.]

HABITAT: (See map); best in Puget Sound region.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Leaf.]

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TREE: Height, 175'-300'; diameter, 3'-5', sometimes 10'; branches high, leaving clean trunk; bark, rough, gray, great broad-rounded ridges, often appears braided; leaves, radiating from stem; cones, 2"-4" long.

APPEARANCE OF WOOD: Color, light red to yellow, sap-wood white; non-porous; rings, dark colored, conspicuous, very p.r.o.nounced summer wood; grain, straight, coa.r.s.e; rays, numerous, obscure; resinous.

PHYSICAL QUALITIES: Weight, medium (41st in this list); 32 lbs. per cu. ft, sp. gr. 0.5157; strong (21st in this list); very elastic (10th in this list); medium hard (45th in this list); shrinkage, 3 per cent.

or 4 per cent.;, warps ...............; durable; difficult to work, flinty, splits readily.

COMMON USES: Heavy construction, masts, flag poles, piles, railway ties.

REMARKS: One of the greatest and the most valuable of the western timber trees. Forms extensive forests.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Radial Section, life size.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Cross-section, magnified 37-1/2 diameters.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Tangential Section, life size.]

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GRAND FIR. WHITE FIR. LOWLAND FIR. SILVER FIR.

_Abies grandis_ Lindley.

_Abies_, the cla.s.sical Latin name.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Habitat.]

HABITAT: (See map); best in Puget Sound region.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Leaf.]

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TREE: Height, in interior 100'; diameter, 2'; on coast, 250'-300' high; diameter, 2'-5'; long pendulous branches; bark, quite gray or gray brown, shallow fissures, flat ridges; leaves, s.h.i.+ny green above, silvery below, 1-1/2"-2" long, roughly two-ranked; cones, cylindrical, 2"-4" long.

APPEARANCE OF WOOD: Color, light brown, sap-wood lighter; non-porous; rings, summer cells broader than in other American species, dark colored, conspicuous; grain straight, coa.r.s.e; rays, numerous, obscure; resinous.

PHYSICAL QUALITIES: Very light (62d in this list); 22 lbs. per cu.

ft.; sp. gr., 0.3545; weak (62d in this list); elastic (34th in this list); soft (65th in this list); shrinkage, 3 per cent.; warps little; not durable; works easily; splits readily.

COMMON USES: Lumber and packing cases.

REMARKS: No resin ducts. Not a very valuable wood.

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[Ill.u.s.tration: Cross-section, magnified 37-1/2 diameters.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Tangential Section, life size.]

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BIG TREE. SEQUOIA. GIANT SEQUOIA.

_Sequoia was.h.i.+ngtoniana_ (Winslow) Sudworth. _Sequoia gigantea_, Decaisne.

_Sequoia_ latinized from Sequoiah, a Cherokee Indian; _was.h.i.+ngtoniana_, in honor of George Was.h.i.+ngton.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Habitat.]

HABITAT: (See map); in ten groves in southern California, at high elevation.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Leaf.]

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TREE: Height, 275', sometimes 320'; diameter, 20', sometimes 35'; trunk, swollen and often b.u.t.tressed at base, ridged, often clear for 150'; thick horizontal branches; bark, 1'-2'

thick, in great ridges, separates into loose, fibrous, cinnamon red scales, almost non-combustible; leaves, very small, growing close to stem; cones, 2"-3" long.

APPEARANCE OF WOOD: Color, red, turning dark on exposure, sap-wood thin, whitish; non-porous; rings, very plain; grain straight, coa.r.s.e; rays, numerous, thin; non-resinous.

PHYSICAL QUALITIES: Light (65th in this list); 18 lbs. per cu. ft.; sp. gr., 0.2882; weak (63d in this list); brittle (62d in this list); very soft (61st in this list); shrinks little; warps little; remarkably durable; easy to work, splits readily, takes nails well.

COMMON USES: Construction, lumber, coffins, s.h.i.+ngles.

REMARKS: Dimensions and age are unequalled; Big Tree and Redwood survivors of a prehistoric genus, once widely distributed. Some specimens 3600 years old.