Noble Fir

Noble fir (Abies procera)
Abies procera

Noble fir (Abies procera) is native to the Cascade Range and Coast Range mountains of northwest California, western Oregon and western Washington.

It is a large evergreen tree typically up to 40-70 m tall and 2 m trunk diameter (rarely to 89 m tall and 2.7 m diameter), with a narrow conic crown. The bark on young trees is smooth, grey, and with resin blisters, becoming red-brown, rough and fissured on old trees. The glaucous blue-green needle-like leaves are 1-3.5 cm long. They are arranged spirally on the shoot, but twisted slightly to curve up above the shoot. The cones are erect, 11-22 cm long; they do not fall to the ground intact, but instead ripen and disintegrate to release winged seeds in fall.

It is a high altitude tree, typically occurring at 300-1,500 m altitude, only rarely reaching tree line.

Uses

Noble Fir is a popular Christmas tree. The wood is used for general structural purposes and paper manufacture.

  • Light Requirements: Full Sun, Part Shade
  • Water Requirements: Moist
  • Ease of Growing: Easy to grow
  • Growth Rate: Moderate
  • Spreads: No
  • Wildlife Support: Birds or Mammals
  • Fire-resistant: No
  • Edible: No
  • Mature Height: 250ft
  • Mature Width:30ft