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A large tree, attaining in America 200 to 250 feet in height and 20 feet or more in girth, narrowly pyramidal in habit. Bark of old trees reddish brown, and deeply divided into broad, flat, connected scaly ridges. Young shoots whitish grey, and covered with short pubescence, intermixed with scattered long straggling hairs. Leaves pectinately arranged, the shorter leaves on the upper side of the branchlets, those in the median line above often parallel to the twig and directed forwards, exposing their stomatic surfaces. The leaves are ¼ to ¾ inch long, linear-oblong, uniform in width, serrulate in margin, dark green above, with a median groove continued up to the rounded apex; under surface with inconspicuous midrib and two broad white stomatic bands, which are ill defined on the outer side, there being no distinct marginal green bands. Buds greyish brown, ovoid, with an obtuse and flattened apex; scales keeled and pubescent.

Cones sessile, about one inch long, ovoid, composed of five series of scales, each series with six to seven scales. Scales spathulate, nearly twice as long as broad, wider in the upper half, abruptly narrowed below, rounded with a slightly acute apex, entire and slightly bevelled in margin, striate and slightly pubescent on the outer surface. Bract small, concealed, lozenge-shaped, pubescent and keeled. Seed with a very long wing, decurrent on the outer side of the seed to the base; seed with wing about three-fourths the length of the scale.

The young seedling has three to four cotyledons, which are a little more than 4 inch in length, gradually tapering to an acute apex, sessile, flattened beneath, the upper surface two-sided and bearing stomata, margin entire. The young stem is pubescent and bears first two to three whorls of true leaves (three in each whorl), which are serrulate, shortly stalked, and bearing stomata on their upper surface. These are succeeded by leaves borne spirally. The cotyledons are supported by a caulicle, reddish and glabrous, about an inch in length. which terminates in a very slender flexuose tap-root.

The name Albertiana has been chosen, as it appears to have been published as early as that of Mertensiana under the correct genus Tsuga. Tsuga Mertensiana is now the name given by American botanists to Tsuga Pattoniana, and its adoption would cause considerable confusion. Albertiana, never having been applied to any other species, is correct on the grounds of common sense as well as of priority.