Twigs/buds: Twigs moderately stout; glabrous; yellow-green to brown-green; round leaf scar. Buds 1/4" long or less; tend to be sticky; yellow-brown.

Flowers/fruit: Fruit a cone; 3" to 5" long; oblong; green to purple; borne upright on upper branches; scales deciduous.

Bark: Thin; smooth; gray; with resinous blisters; becoming furrowed and ridged on older trunks.

Wood: Moderate importance; soft and brittle; white to yellow-brown; even grained; growth rings distinct.

General: Native to central and southern Rocky Mountains, including Utah, and to California. Prefers moist, cool, protected sites. Shade tolerant.

Landscape Use: Very desirable tree that needs some protection to do well on windy, exposed sites in Utah's valleys. Does not seem to like high soil pH. Still, very attractive with its nice conical form and blue-green foliage--sometimes confused with blue spruce. Zones 3-7.

Range map from Digital Atlas of the Vascular Plants of Utah