Description: The largest North American true fir, with conical crown, rounded at tip, and with short, nearly horizontal branches.

Height: 30-45 m, often much taller.

Diameter: 0.8-1.2 m

Needles: evergreen; spreading densely in two rows above and to the sides of the shoot, leaving it exposed only underneath; 2.5-3.5 cm long, 1.5 mm wide. Flat, grooved above, often notched, round at the apex; blue-green with whitish lines; with stomata both above and below; on upper twigs, shorter, crowded, curved upward, four-sided.

Bark: grey-brown and smooth, becoming brown to red-brown; slightly thickened, and furrowed into irregular, long, scaly plates.

Twigs: stout, brown, with rust-coloured hairs when young; buds roundish, resinous, surrounded at the base by a collar of long-pointed scales free at the tips.

Flowers: Males globular, crowded along undersides of shoots over most of crown of older trees, about 6mm across, bright crimson before shedding pollen. Females cylindric, 4-5cm yellow-green.

Cones: 15-25 cm long; cylindrical, upright on topmost twigs, green becoming purplish-brown; cone-scales with fine hairs and mostly covered by large, green papery bracts, finely toothed, long-pointed, and bent downward; paired, long-winged seeds. These cones are the largest among true firs and, standing stiffly erect, the size and rich colour render them very striking.

Habitat: Moist soils in high mountains with short, cool growing season and deep snow in winter. Associated with other conifers, not in pure stands. Where its range enters California, it forms a part of the Red Fir Forest (m15) plant community.

Range: Cascade mountains and Coast Ranges from Washington south to NW California; at 900-2100m; occasionally 60-2700m. Zone 5.

A handsome tree, it is the tallest true fir: the champion, in Gifford Pinchot National Forest in SW Washington, is 85m high with a trunk circumference of 8.6m and a crown spread of 14m. Noble Fir was named by the Scottish Botanical explorer David Douglas (1798-1834) who discovered it in 1825 and introduced it to the UK six years later on his second visit. No fir from W North America has succeeded better than this in some parts of the UK, most especially in Scotland. Trees planted in 1835 were still standing in the '60s, but by 1974 were dead. Heights of 40-45m have been reached in all parts of the UK.

Information: Audubon (1980), Bean I, Mitchell (1988), Rushforth (1987)

Source: Weasdale Nurseries, Newbiggin-on-Lune, Cumbria.

Purchased: 25 forest grade transplants at 20-35cm (this was a cheaper way of buying the trees than as three larger specimens).

Planted: One potted, three planted in US strip. Rest heeled in, christmas 1993 (and still there in 1998 )-:

Progress: Owing to a rethink of the zones, two of the three trees had to be moved, but as they are so slow growing, and small, it was possible to do this without greatly damaging the root ball. Indeed, hte one which was moved seems to have grown faster than either of the ones which were undisturbed. All were at a similar size of 0.8 to 0.95m by October 1998. These are now (September 2004) at 4m (furthest north) 4.6m (the one which was moved) and 3.1m. Some of the trees left heeled in, in good garden soil with little competition from grasses, grew rather taller. At least one is still there, though will probably be felled before it gets too big for the garden. The 3.1m specimen in the strip may also be removed - it has two leaders and is probably unacceptably close to a black spruce which is more appropriate for the zoning finally decided upon.

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