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| White Fir | ||||||||||||||
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 Sierra Nevada White Fir
in Yosemite National Park |
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| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||
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| Binomial name | ||||||||||||||
| Abies concolor (Gordon) Lindley ex Hildebrand |
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 Range
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White Fir (Abies concolor) is a fir native to the mountains of western North America, occurring at altitudes of 900-3,400 m. It is a medium to large evergreen coniferous tree growing to 25-60 m tall and with a trunk diameter of up to two m.
The leaves are needle-like, flattened, 2.5-6 cm long and 2 mm wide by 0.5-1 mm thick, green to glaucous blue-green above, and with two glaucous blue-white bands of stomata below, and slightly notched to bluntly pointed at the tip. The leaf arrangement is spiral on the shoot, but with each leaf variably twisted at the base so they all lie in either two more-or-less flat ranks on either side of the shoot, or upswept across the top of the shoot but not below the shoot. The cones are 6-12 cm long and 4-4.5 cm broad, green or purple ripening pale brown, with about 100-150 scales; the scale bracts are short, and hidden in the closed cone. The winged seeds are released when the cones disintegrate at maturity about 6 months after pollination.
As treated here, there are two subspecies; these are also variously treated at either the lower rank of variety by some authors, or as distinct species by others:
- Abies concolor subsp. concolor. Colorado White Fir or Rocky Mountains White Fir. In the United States, at altitudes of 1700-3400 m in the Rocky Mountains from southern Idaho south through Utah and Colorado to New Mexico and Arizona, and on the higher Great Basin mountains of Nevada and extreme southeastern California, and a short distance into northern Sonora, Mexico. A smaller tree to 25-35 m tall, rarely 45 m. Foliage strongly upcurved to erect on all except weak shaded shoots in the lower crown; leaves mostly 3.5-6 cm, and strongly glaucous on the upper side with numerous stomata. Tolerates winter temperatures down to about -40°C.
- Abies concolor subsp. lowiana (syn. A. lowiana). Low's White Fir or Sierra Nevada White Fir. In the United States, at altitudes of 900-2700 m from the Cascades of central Oregon south through California (Klamath Mountains, Sierra Nevada) to northern Baja California, Mexico. A larger tree to 40-60 m tall. Foliage flattened on lower crown shoots, the leaves often raised above the shoot on upper crown shoots but not often strongly upcurved; leaves mostly 2.5-5 cm, and only weakly glaucous on the upper side with few or no stomata. Tolerates winter temperatures down to about -30°C.
White Fir is very closely related to Grand Fir (Abies grandis), with subspecies lowiana being particularly similar to the interior variety of Grand Fir A. grandis var. idahoensis, intergrading with it where they meet in the Cascades of central Oregon. To the south in Mexico, it is replaced by further close relatives, Durango Fir (A. durangensis) and Mexican Fir (A. mexicana).
White fir, being shade tolerant, is a climax species in forest succession in the Sierra Nevada, and in the presence of modern human controls against forest fires, it has flourished over the past two centuries. It is sometimes regarded as a pest by those in the lumber industry, as it drives out trees of greater stature (such as the sugar pine and incense cedar), has weaker, knottier wood than its competitors, and retains its lower limbs. This latter trait creates a fire ladder that allows flames to reach up to the canopy, thinning out giant sequoia stands that would escape smaller forest fires with minimal damage. [1]
Uses
White Fir is widely planted as an ornamental tree in large parks, particularly some cultivars of subsp. concolor selected for very bright glaucous blue foliage, such as cv. 'Violacea'. Some consider the foliage to have an attractive scent, and thus is sometimes used for Christmas decoration, including Christmas trees. White Fir wood is soft, knotty and not very strong nor very resistant to parasites; it is used in small amounts for paper making, packing crates and other cheap construction work.
 A. concolor subsp. lowiana foliage upperside |
 A. concolor subsp. lowiana foliage underside |
 A young sapling of subsp. lowiana on Mount Whitney |
 White fir in garden environment at Minnesota Landscape Arboretum |
References
- Conifer Specialist Group (1998). Abies concolor. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006.
External links
- Gymnosperm Database Abies concolor (treated as varieties of one species).
- Flora of North America Abies concolor and Abies lowiana (treated as two species).
