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Susan Nolen's avatar

Ha! Hair ice. We get it on alders, too. I’ll have to look into it!

Ann Stinson's avatar

Interesting--do Pacific silver fir also get nicknamed "piss fir"? I'll ask Merc if he has both kinds--silver and white. How many kinds of silver fir are there?

Skve Barnave's avatar

Ann, Steve Barnowe-Meyer here. Pacific silver fir (Abies amabilis) is a tree native to Washington state including being native to the Porter area; white fir (Abies concolor), also called concolor fir or Colorado fir, is not a Washington native species. It ranges from the southern Cascades in Oregon into the Sierras in California and in the Rocky Mountains from southern Idaho to Arizona and New Mexico. When I started working as a forester with Crown Zellerbach near Sekiu / Clallam Bay in 1974, I worked in old-growth stands of western hemlock & Pacific silver fir (no DF at all). Every faller & logger I worked with called Pacific silver fir “piss fir”. So, white fir might also be called “piss fir” by some but, to the best of my knowledge, in WA if someone is talking about a piss fir, they are referring to a Pacific silver fir. Pacific silver fir is the only silver fir in the US. I have several growing on my tree farm, that planted or seeded in.

Ann Stinson's avatar

ah ha! It's you : ) Thank you--last night I went to the LCFFA meeting and the speaker from Silveseed kept referencing "ABs" I didn't know and didn't want to ask, but now I know she was saying "Abies."

I'm wondering now if Merc actually said silver fir and I heard white fir. I'll find out

Shel. Ram's avatar

I now feel inspired to write a poem about anything. Thanks, Ann!

Ann Stinson's avatar

ha! a poem CAN be about anything : )

Skve Barnave's avatar

I could be wrong but, as a forester, I think the Porter White Fir is actually a Pacific silver fir.

Ann Stinson's avatar

Interesting--do Pacific silver fir also get nicknamed "piss fir"? I'll ask Merc if he has both kinds--silver and white. How many kinds of silver fir are there?

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Jan 21
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Ann Stinson's avatar

Yes, I loved hearing Dad and Merc talking while planting. Their souls are in the process.