Engelmann spruce (_Picea engelmannii_).—The new-growth twigs are covered with soft, short hairs. Needles less rigid and less sharply pointed than those of blue spruce; green, dark blue green, or pale steel blue. Cones about 2 inches long. Bark is dark reddish brown and separates in the form of small, rounded scales. Main trunk, in contrast to blue spruce, is smooth and clean. Blue spruce (_Picea pungens_).—The new-growth twigs are not covered with hair. Needles stiff, with sharp points, varying in color from silvery blue to green. Cones about 3 inches long. Bark of mature trunks gray and deeply furrowed. Main trunk always has numerous short twigs pushing out between branches. FIRS.—Two species. Needles blunt, flat, and soft to touch, without any stem where they join branches. Needles leave flat, round scars when they fall off, in contrast to short stubs left by spruce needles on twigs. Cones, unlike those of other conifers, are erect. In the fall the cone scales drop off, leaving only a spike on the branch. Buds blunt and pitchy. Blisters containing pitch or balsam are scattered over the smoother bark. Alpine fir (_Abies lasiocarpa_).—Blunt flat needles, about 1 to 1¾ inches long, soft to the touch and fragrant. Needles tend to turn upward. Dark-purple cones, 2¼ to 4 inches long. Bark smooth, grayish white, except on older part of the trunk, where it is broken into ridges. Tree has a sharp, spirelike crown. Grows at high altitudes, usually with Engelmann spruce. Corkbark fir (_Abies arizonica_).—The trunk, crown, cones, and needles of the corkbark and alpine fir are so alike in general appearance that the two cannot be readily distinguished by these features. The cone scales of the corkbark fir are of a different form than those of the alpine, and the bracts borne on the backs of the scales also differ materially. The ashy-gray, soft, corky trunk bark alone readily distinguishes this tree from the alpine fir. DOUGLAS FIR (_Pseudotsuga taxifolia_).—Though similar in name, this species is not a true fir. Flat leaves, ¾ to 1½ inches long, with a short stem that joins them to the branches. Cones with three-pronged bracts extending beyond the cone scales. Cone scales persistent, the cones falling off the tree whole. Buds are sharp-pointed, shiny, smooth, red brown. JUNIPERS or CEDARS.—Three species. Fruit reduced to small, bluish berries, needles reduced to tiny green scales on the twigs, though sometimes spreading and about ½ inch long, making twigs very prickly to the touch. Rocky Mountain red cedar (_Juniperus scopulorum_).—Berries ¼ to ⅓ inch in diameter, bright blue, usually with 2 seeds. Berries mature in 2 years. Bark scaly, twigs slender and graceful, heartwood red.