Pacific silver fir is a tall (to 55 m), straight, densely cylindrical or conical tree. The bark, when young, is grey and smooth with resin blisters, but becomes scaly with age. The short (3 cm) needles are flat and blunt, dark glossy green above with two or more white lines of stomata beneath. The blunt needles make the branches non-prickly when grasped ("friendly fir" as opposed to "spiny spruce"). As in all true firs, the needles leave a flat circular scar rather than a raised peg. The needles form flat, spray-like branches with needles from the branch bottom and sides spreading horizontally. The needles on the tops of the branches lie flat and point forward covering the branch itself. The female cones are upright, deep purple and barrel-shaped, 8-12 cm long, and shatter without falling, leaving the central "spike" standing on the branches into the winter. Pacific silver fir occupies a variety of habitats, but most typically occurs in moist, mid-elevation sites. Noble fir (A. procera) occupies the same elevation range, but whereas Pacific silver fir seedlings can establish in the closed forest understory, Noble fir seedlings require clearings (usually provided by wildfires) to establish. The common name derives from the silvery undersides of the leaves; "amabilis" means lovely.