"By their fruits ye shall know them." At least so it is in the final interpretation of a species of true fir.

The student of the forest may be able to glance at the bark, or the branches, or the pitch pockets, but the casual visitor needs all of these and in addition the leaves and cone before he can clearly define individual specimens from each other. Sudworth mentions in his book, "Forest Trees of the Pacific Slope" that the Noble Fir has been misnamed in parts of Oregon for over twenty-five years and that the misnomer still clings. Yet this fir is one that has a distinctive and characteristic cone. The large bracts that present a shingled appearance between the scales set it apart from all the rest which have small irregular or non-protruding bracts.

The maturing of the cone which is now light yellow-green in color but which later turns to light yellow-brown due to the drying of the bracts occurs early in September. After this time they begin to break and fall from the trees. Cones may be found on the ground in August but it should be noted that these are usually infected with. insects.

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