Noble fir is a tall (to 80 m) tree with a broad and symmetrically conical crown. Its bark is brownish-grey and smooth with resin blisters when young, but it matures into rough plates. The 2-3 cm needles are blunt and have two narrow white bands of stomata below and two broad bands of stomata above, making them appear silvery. The blunt needles make the branches non-prickly when grasped ("friendly fir" as opposed to "spiny spruce"). The needles are generally turned upward so that the lower surface of the branch is visible. As in all true firs, needles leave a flat circular leaf scar rather than a raised peg. The female cones are greenish and 10-15 cm long, with conspicuous ragged-edged bracts almost concealing the scales. As in all true firs, the cones shatter on the tree leaving the central spike standing into winter. Noble fir occurs at middle to upper elevations in coniferous forests, often associated with Pacific silver fir. Unlike Pacific silver fir, noble fir cannot successfully reproduce under the continuous forest canopy and relies on disturbances (e.g., fires) to open sites for its successful reproduction.