Abies pindrow

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Pindrow fir
Abies pindrow at Himachal Pradesh, India

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Gymnospermae
Division: Pinophyta
Class: Pinopsida
Order: Pinales
Family: Pinaceae
Genus: Abies
Species:
A. pindrow
Binomial name
Abies pindrow

Abies pindrow, the pindrow fir or west Himalayan fir, is a

Himalaya and adjacent mountains, from northeast Afghanistan east through northern Pakistan and India to central Nepal
.

Description

Leaves of Abies pindrow.

It is a large evergreen tree growing to 40–60 metres (130–200 ft) tall, and with a trunk diameter of up to 2–2.5 metres (6 ft 7 in – 8 ft 2 in). It has a conical crown with level branches. The shoots are greyish-pink to buff-brown, smooth and glabrous (hairless). The

stomatal bands on the underside; they are arranged spirally on the shoots, but twisted at the base to lie in a flat plane either side of the shoot. The cones are broad cylindric-conic, 7–14 centimetres (2.8–5.5 in) long and 3–4 centimetres (1.2–1.6 in) broad, dark purple when young, disintegrating when mature to release the seeds
5–7 months after pollination.

The closely related Gamble's fir occurs in the same area but on somewhat drier sites; it differs in shorter leaves 2–4 cm long with less obvious stomatal bands and arranged more radially round the shoot. The cones are very similar.

Recent research, however, has shown that

Sangla Valley at elevations between 3000 and 3400 m where these species have morphologically and ecologically clearly separated. Elevation-wise, pindrow fir occurs between 2,000–3,350 metres (6,560–10,990 ft) (although mostly between 2400 and 3000 m) and Abies gamblei from 3,000–3,500 metres (9,800–11,500 ft). Some references of 3,700 metres (12,100 ft) naming (in error) "Abies spectabilis" in the western Himalayas, most probably are true for Abies gamblei, but to confirm this would require further research.[2]

Distribution and habitat

Abies pindrow at Mt. Mukeshpuri, Pakistan.

A. pindrow grows at altitudes of 2,400–3,700 metres (7,900–12,100 ft) in forests together with Cedrus deodara, Picea smithiana and Pinus wallichiana typically occupying cooler, moister north-facing slopes.

Uses

The pindrow fir is used to a small extent for

timber in its native range. It is occasionally grown as an ornamental tree in large gardens in western Europe, but demands high humidity and rainfall to grow well. The name pindrow derives from the tree's name in Nepali
.

References

  1. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T42294A2970337.en
    . Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. ISBN 978-9632190617
    .

External links
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