High-elevation Conifers

Noble Fir – Abies procera

Needles: Bent like hockey sticks

Cones: Upright at tree top, whiskery bracts

Bark: Gray-brown, becoming furrowed

Where: Above 2000 feet

Mountain Hemlock
 – Tsuga mertensiana

Needles: Short, flat, spread in all
directions

Cones: Rounded scales

Bark: Small deep furrows, gray

Where: Above 4000 feet

Has drooping top

Pacific Silver Fir
 – Abies amabilis

Needles: Point up & forward, white lines below

Cones: Upright at treetop

Bark: Large, gray, scaly plates

Where: Above 3000 feet

Subalpine Fir
 – Abies lasiocarpa

Needles: Curved upward, white lines above & below

Cones: Upright at tree top, purple

Bark: Smooth, gray

Where: Above 4000 feet

Western White Pine
 – Pinus monticola

Needles: Bundles of 5

Cones: Banana shape and size

Bark: Furrowed with scaly plates, gray

Where: 3000-5000 feet

Whitebark Pine
 – Pinus albicaulis

Needles: Bundles of 5

Cones: Egg shape and size

Bark: Light gray, scaly

Where: At the timberline

Engelmann Spruce
 – Picea engelmannii

Needles: All around twig, sharp points

Cones: Douglas fir size, paper-thin scales

Bark: Gray, scaly

Where: Cascades and Mts. to the east, above 3000 feet

Incense Cedar
 – Calocedrus decurrens

Leaves: Long, flat scales

Cones: Shaped like a duck's bill

Bark: Brown, deep furrows

Where: Dry areas of Cascades

Western Larch
 – Larix occidentalis

Needles: Bundles of 25

Cones: Rounded scales, whiskers

Bark: Flaky scales, furrowed

Where: East of the Cascade crest, up to 6000 feet

Similar tree: Alpine Larch

Alaska Cedar
 – Callitropsis nootkatensis

Leaves: Short, scaled with flaring tips

Cones: Round

Bark: Gray-brown, shreddy strips

Where: Above 3000 feet

Alpine Larch
 – Larix lyalii

Needles: Bundles of 25

Cones: Rounded scales, whiskers

Bark: Brown or gray with flaky scales

Where: North Cascade of Washington, up to 6000 feet

Lodgepole Pine – Pinus contorta

Needles: Bundles of 2

Cones: Egg shape and size

Bark: Dark gray, scaly

Where: Along the coast and above 3000 ft. in the mountains

Common Juniper
- Juniperus communis

Needles: Awl shaped, sets of 3

Cones: Berry like, blue with white bloom

Bark: Brown

Where: Near the timberline