Abies concolor
Abies concolor White fir | |
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Sierra Nevada white fir in Yosemite National Park | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Gymnospermae |
Division: | Pinophyta |
Class: | Pinopsida |
Order: | Pinales |
Family: | Pinaceae |
Genus: | Abies |
Species: | A. concolor
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Binomial name | |
Abies concolor | |
Natural range of Abies concolor
green - A. concolor var. concolor
blue - A. concolor var. lowiana
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Synonyms[2][3] | |
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Abies concolor, the white fir, concolor fir, or Colorado fir, is a coniferous tree in the pine family Pinaceae. This tree is native to the mountains of western North America, including the Sierra Nevada and southern Rocky Mountains, and into the isolated mountain ranges of southern Arizona, New Mexico, and Northern Mexico. It naturally occurs at elevations between 900 and 3,400 metres (3,000 and 11,200 ft).
It is popular as an ornamental landscaping tree and as a Christmas tree.
Description
This large evergreen conifer grows best in the central
The gray bark is usually at least 10 cm (4 in) thick, and brown-hued inside.
The cones are 6–12 cm (2+1⁄4–4+3⁄4 in) long and 4–4.5 cm (1+5⁄8–1+3⁄4 in) 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.[8]
White fir can live over 300 years.[9]
Subspecies
As treated here, there are two subspecies;[citation needed] these are also variously treated at either the lower rank of variety by some authors, or as distinct species by others:
Image | Name | Description | Distribution |
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Abies concolor subsp. concolor — Colorado white fir or Rocky Mountain white fir | A smaller tree to 25–35 m (80–115 ft) tall, rarely 45 m (150 ft). Foliage blue-green,[7] strongly upcurved to erect on all except weak, shaded shoots in the lower crown; leaves mostly 3.5–6 cm (1+3⁄8–2+3⁄8 in), and strongly glaucous on the upper side with numerous stomata. Tolerates winter temperatures down to about −40 °C (−40 °F). | In the United States, at altitudes of 1,700–3,400 m (5,600–11,200 ft) in the Rocky Mountains through Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico.[7] and on the higher Great Basin mountains of Nevada and extreme southeastern California, and a short distance into northern Sonora, Mexico. | |
Abies concolor subsp. lowiana ( syn. Abies lowiana) — Low's white fir or Sierra Nevada white fir |
A larger tree growing to 40–60 m (130–195 ft) 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 (1–2 in), and only weakly glaucous on the upper side with few or no stomata. Tolerates winter temperatures down to about −30 °C (−22 °F). The United States Department of Agriculture plants database describes this subspecies as the full species Sierra white fir – Abies lowiana (Gordon & Glend.) A. Murray bis.[10] | In the United States, at altitudes of 900–2,300 m (3,000–7,500 ft)[11] from the Cascades of Central Oregon south through California (Klamath Mountains, Sierra Nevada) to northern Baja California, Mexico. |
Botanical collection
White fir was first collected by Augustus Fendler on his expedition to the Santa Fe area of New Mexico in 1846–1847. Fendler's patron George Engelmann, a St. Louis area physician and botanist, then described the plant.[12] This tree was first collected in California by William Lobb on his expedition to California of 1849–1853, after it was overlooked by David Douglas in his 1825–1827 expedition to the Pacific coast region.[13][14]
The specific epithet concolor means "all one color".[15]
Distribution
This tree is native to the mountains of western North America from the southern Cascade Range in Oregon, south throughout California and into the Sierra de San Pedro Mártir in northern Baja California, and south throughout the Colorado Plateau and southern Rocky Mountains in Utah and Colorado, and into the isolated mountain ranges of southern Arizona, New Mexico, and Northern Mexico. It naturally occurs between 900 and 3,400 m (3,000 and 11,200 ft) above sea level.[9]
Ecology
White fir is very closely related to
Like grand fir, white fir is more
The white fir trait of retaining lower limbs creates an escape route for medium-to-small forest birds (such as
This tree is host to fir mistletoe (Phoradendron pauciflorum), a parasitic plant. It is attacked by many types of insects, such as the fir engraver (Scolytus ventralis).[21]
Dependent species
Mature white fir–yellow pine forests support
Deer browse the foliage of this species and porcupines chew the bark. Songbirds, grouse, and various mammals eat the seeds.[24][25]
Uses
White fir and grand fir were used by Native Americans for medicinal use involving powdered bark or pitch to treat tuberculosis or skin ailments. The Nlaka'pamux used the bark to cover lodges and make canoes. Branches were also used as bedding.[7]
White fir is a preferred construction species because of its nail-holding ability, lightness in weight, and resistance to split, twist, and pitch. It is straight-grained, non-resinous, fine-textured, stiff, and strong.[26]
It is popular as a Christmas tree and for Christmas decoration owing to its soft needles, generally excellent needle retention and abundance. It is often marketed as concolor or white fir.[27]
Cultivation
White fir is widely planted as an
Gallery
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A. concolor subsp. lowiana foliage upperside
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A. concolor subsp. lowiana foliage underside
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A young sapling of subsp. lowiana on Mount Whitney
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White fir in garden environment at Minnesota Landscape Arboretum
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Small stand of young white firs on Cuyamaca Peak, California
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White firs at Toro Peak, California
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Foliage, with Arceuthobium abietinum infestation
References
- . Retrieved November 19, 2021.
- ^ "Abies concolor". Tropicos. Missouri Botanical Garden.
- ^ "Abies concolor". World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew – via The Plant List. Note that this website has been superseded by World Flora Online
- ^ a b American Forestry Association. 1978. National register of big trees. American Forests 84(4):19-47
- ^ Taylor, M. "New World Record for White Fir". Native Tree Society.
- ^ Jones, John R. 1974. Silviculture of southwestern mixed conifers and aspen: the status of our knowledge. USDA Forest Service, Research Paper RM-122. Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, Fort Collins, CO. 44 p.
- ^ OCLC 1141235469.
- ^ Hunt, Richard S. (1993). "Abies concolor". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). Vol. 2. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
- ^ a b "Plant Fact Sheet: White Fir - Abies concolor" (PDF). United States Department of Agriculture. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 21, 2016. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
- ^ USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Abies lowiana". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved December 14, 2017.
- ^ Hunt, Richard S. (1993). "Abies lowiana". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). Vol. 2. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
- ^ Fendler, Augustus (March 2, 1846). "Correspondence : Fendler (Augustus) and Engelmann (George)". Biodiversity Heritage Library. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
- ISBN 9781570618307.
- ^ Gordon, George, & Glendinning, Robert. Pinetum 155. 1858.
- ISBN 978-1845337315.
- ISSN 1385-0237.
- ^ "Benefits of Fire" (PDF). California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 9, 2009. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
- ^ "White Fir" (PDF). Sierra Pacific Industries. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
- ^ "Sequoiadendron giganteum". www.fs.fed.us.
- ^ The Giant Sequoia of the Sierra Nevada
- ^ Maloney P. E. & D. M. Rizzo. (2002). Pathogens and insects in a pristine forest ecosystem: the Sierra San Pedro Martir, Baja, Mexico. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 32:3 448-57.
- .
- ^ Bland, James D. (2008). "Mount Pinos Sooty Grouse". Studies of Western Birds: 102–06. Retrieved January 26, 2022.
- ^ Bonanza Books. p. 196.
- ISBN 0-394-73127-1.
- ^ Western Wood Products Association (WWPA)
- ^ "Christmas Tree Types". Archived from the original on January 16, 2009. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
- ^ "Abies concolor 'Compacta'". RHS. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
- ^ "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 1. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
Further reading
- OCLC 3477527.
- Laacke, Robert J. (1990). "Abies concolor". In Burns, Russell M.; Honkala, Barbara H. (eds.). Conifers. Silvics of North America. Vol. 1. Washington, D.C.: United States Forest Service (USFS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) – via Southern Research Station.
External links
- Media related to Abies concolor at Wikimedia Commons
- Jepson eFlora Treatment - Abies concolor
- Gymnosperm Database: Abies concolor — (treated as varieties of one species).
- Interactive Distribution Map of Abies concolor
- USDA Plants Profile for Abies concolor (white fir)
- Conifers Around the World: Abies concolor - Rocky Mountain White Fir.
- Conifer Database