Abies magnifica is a large
evergreen tree typically up to tall and trunk diameter, rarely to tall and diameter, with a narrow conic crown. The
bark on young trees is smooth, grey, and has
resin blisters, becoming orange-red, rough and fissured on old trees. The
leaves are needle-like, long, glaucous blue-green above and below with strong
stomatal bands, and an acute tip. They are arranged spirally on the shoot, but twisted slightly S-shaped to be upcurved above the shoot. The
cones are erect, long, yellow-green (occasionally purple), ripening brown and disintegrating to release the winged
seeds in fall.
Varieties There are three varieties:
Related Red fir is very closely related to
Abies procera (noble fir), which replaces it further north in the
Cascade Range. They are best distinguished by the leaves; noble fir leaves have a groove along the midrib on the upper side, while red fir does not show this. Red fir also tends to have the leaves less closely packed, with the shoot bark visible between the leaves, whereas the shoot is largely hidden in noble fir. Shasta red fir hybridizes with noble fir, with which it is both chemically and microscopically similar; some botanists treat the former as a natural hybrid between red and noble fir. ==First recording==