View from the Office

This week we're back on the Routt National Forest in north central Colorado.  We're working in  lodgepole pine stands, which likely originated in the aftermath of a severe wildfire.  Because such fires have been absent from these stands since the late 19th century, the forest is generally converting to subalpine fir.  (There is not much fir in the photo, above, but you can see it starting to come in at lower left.)  I'm sure that subalpine fir is beloved by many, but I think my reader knows that Rural Ways prefers pine.

In any case, one mystery that I was able to solve this week involves subalpine fir cones.  Have you ever stood in a subalpine fir thicket and wondered why there were no cones on the ground?  Have you ever wondered what the cones would look like if you could find them?  Tada.  See the picture below.  The cones of the subalpine fir develop at the very top of the tree.  When mature, they open and disseminate seed without dropping from the branch.  The cones then disintegrate in situ.  As a result, there is never a pile of fir cones on the ground under the tree.  I found the pictured cones residing at waist level in a tree that had blown over.  Notice the growth habit?  Instead of drooping down like most cones, they grow straight up, pointing at the sky.