This fir is the rarest in the world, naturally occurring only in the Santa Lucia Mountains of California. The pictures were take at the Botanic Garden in Tilden Regional Park, which has a very nice stand of the trees.The cones look almost furry because of the one inch long bristles that stick out all over it. When ripe, the cones fall to pieces, so you don't see them on the ground, you only see seeds.
Much planted as an ornamental because of its cone-shape and graceful branches.
Beautiful tree, under-used in California horticulture. I've noticed that we have tons of information about the "insect pests" (including all the Lepidoptera) of timber trees, but species like this, of little economic interest, are practically unstudied and unknown when it comes to their insect values.
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