Noble Fir Identification

Size and Form

• The noble fir in its natural environment, in the moist soil of mountain terrain, grows 100 to 150 feet tall. Trunk diameters reach between 3 and 5 feet, notes "Trees of North America." The mature individuals feature a long trunk, with a rounded top of dense branches that seems to form a dome. The cultivated versions of a noble fir are smaller, maturing to between 50 and 100 feet.

Needles

• The needles grow in two rows on a noble fir twig, curving upward from the branch. They are many in number, flattened and densely packed on each twig. Noble fir needles measure between 1 and 1½ inches long. They are a shade of bluish-green, possessing a pair of pale white lines on their undersides, called stomatal bands. Noble firs are evergreen conifer trees, retaining their needles year round.

Cones

• An identifying trait possessed by the cones of the noble fir is a fine covering of tiny hairs on their scales, according to Nearctica. The cones are anywhere from 4 inches long to 9 inches in length. When they first develop, noble fir cones are greenish, but the cones become shades of purple and brown as they age. The cones have a tapered, cylindrical appearance and the scales have a thin, flexible greenish bract extending downward from them.

Bark

• The bark on the younger noble fir trees is smooth. Young trees have gray-brown bark. As a noble fir gets older and grows, the bark takes on a light red color. Furrows begin to develop and the smooth bark breaks up into rectangular plates. Resin blisters are a common aspect of noble fir bark, with many of the sticky resin spots conspicuous along the length of the trunk and large branches. New growth on a noble fir has a coating of minute, brown hairs.