From an email by Jocie to the Botany Group on January 22.
Here are a few more trees from the subalpine (photos from the Jutland nordic ski trail).
One of my favourite trees is the amabilis fir (Abies amabilis). The silvery bark, dark green needles, and spicy fragrance are emblematic of the mountain wilderness. They evoke the deep forests of the past that covered much of Vancouver Island just a few centuries ago.
Amabilis usually has somewhat flattened needles, a bit like a grand fir, but it has a double row of needles along the center. Like all “true firs,” amabilis has smooth bark (when young) and bumpy resin blisters.
Another common tree of the subalpine in our area is the yellow cedar, Callitropsis nootkatensis (formerly: Cupressus nootkatensis). The seed cones look like little round berries, and are light green when young and chestnut brown when mature. Tiny male pollen cones dot the tips of the branches.
Branches of yellow cedar tend to hang straight down like a curtain, unlike the fanning branches of red cedar. Yellow cedar is also found at sea level and becomes more common along the coast as one heads north.
Have a closer look at these wonderful trees the next time you are up the mountain! [Click a photo to enlarge it.]
- Amabilis fir needles: note the double row along the centre, and the notched needle tips.
- Close-up of the smooth bark and bumpy resin blisters of amabilis fir.
- Yellow cedar: new green “berry-like” seed cones.
- Mature yellow cedar seed cones.
- Tiny male pollen cones dot the tips of yellow cedar branches.
- Yellow cedar branches hang straight down like a curtain.
