Tips for identifying firs: linear needles, flat in cross-section (in contrast to angular spruce), twigs smooth, leaf scars more or less circular, cones upright with scales that fall off at maturity
Size: tree, 50-80' average height at maturity, 15-30' spread
Buds: bluntly conical, covered with resin
Leaves: evergreen, spirally arranged, generally curving outward and upward, sometimes almost vertical on twigs, about 2" long, uniformly blue-green on top and bottom
Twigs: yellow-green in first year, gray or silver in second
Flowers: monoecious, males red or red-violet
Fruit: upright, cylindrical, 3-6", pale green when young, later brown
Bark: smooth when young, very thick on old trees, deep furrows and thick ridges, gray
