Fraser Fir

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iFraser Fir

Seedlings of Fraser Fir

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Pinophyta
Class:	Pinopsida
Order:	Pinales
Family:	Pinaceae
Genus:	Abies
Species:	A. fraseri

Binomial name

Abies fraseri
(Pursh) Poir.

Fraser Fir (Abies fraseri), is a coniferous tree, closely related to Balsam Fir. Its range is restricted to the southeastern Appalachian Mountains in southwestern Virginia, western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. The tree lives in acidic moist but well-drained sandy loam at high elevations (1200-2000 m), usually mixed with Red Spruce. Fraser Fir grows up to 25 m tall, 75 cm in trunk diameter and a 6-12 m spread. The crown is pyramidal with horizontal branches. It is dense when the tree is young, but becomes more open as it ages.

Fraser Fir forest, with many trees killed by Balsam woolly adelgid

The bark is grey-brown and may become scaly with age. The bark is normally thin and smooth but usually has many resin blisters.

The leaves are needle-like, arranged spirally on the twigs but twisted at the base to spread in two rows. They are 12-25 mm long, flat and flexible with a rounded, notched tip, dark green with two silvery white stomatal bands on the underside. The leaves produce an odor like turpentine.

The cones are 3.5-7 cm long, purplish, turning light brown when mature. They are upright, cylindric, and resinous with long reflexed bracts. The scales fall off after the cone matures to release the seeds.

Fraser Fir is under attack by a non-native insect, the Balsam Woolly Adelgid (Adelges piceae). The insect's introduction and spread led to a rapid decline in Fraser Fir across its range, with over 95% of mature trees having been killed. The rapid regeneration of seedlings with lack of canopy has led to vast, vibrant crops of new, healthy young trees where the mature forests once stood. However, when these young trees get old enough for the bark to develop fissures, they will likely be attacked and killed by the adelgids as well. For this reason, the future of the species is still uncertain. The decline of the Fraser Fir in the southern Appalachians has contributed to loss of moss habitat which supports the Spruce-fir moss spider.

Abies balsamea var. phanerolepis is regarded by some as a hybrid between the Balsam Fir and the Fraser Fir.

[edit] Cultivation and uses

Fraser Fir is widely used as a Christmas tree. Its fragrance, appearance, strong twigs, and ability to retain its soft needles for a long time when cut (which do not prick easily when hanging ornaments) make it an excellent choice for this purpose. In the past, it was also sometimes known as "She-balsam".