Abies pinsapo
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| Abies pinsapo | ||||||||||||||
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 Spanish Fir in the Sierra de las Nieves
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| Abies pinsapo Boiss. |
Abies pinsapo (Spanish Fir) is a species of fir native to southern Spain and Morocco. In Spain it is limited to altitudes of 1100-2000 m in the Sierra de Grazalema in the province of Cádiz and the Sierra de las Nieves near Ronda in the province of Málaga. In Morocco it is limited to the Rif mountains at altitudes of 1400-2100 m on Jebel Tissouka and Jebel Tazaot
It is an evergreen tree growing to 20-30 m tall, with a conic crown, sometimes becoming irregular with age. The leaves are 1.5-2 cm long, arranged radially all round the shoots, and are strongly glaucous pale blue-green, with broad bands of whitish wax on both sides. The cones are cylindrical, 9-18 cm long, greenish-pink to purple before maturity, and smooth with the bract scales short and not exserted. When mature, they disintegrate to release the winged seeds.
The Moroccan variety, Moroccan Fir Abies pinsapo var. marocana, differs in the leaves being less strongly glaucous and the cones slightly longer, 11-20 cm long.
Spanish Fir is now a threatened species more than ever. In spite of environmental laws and status of Sierra de las Nieves as Natural Park and UNESCO reserve, a giant real estate development, with golf courses and hundreds of luxury houses and hotels, is going to ruin an extense area inside this reserve, consuming a huge amount of water and creating a big urban nucleus very close to fir forests[citation needed].
[edit] References
- Conifer Specialist Group (1998). Abies pinsapo. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006.
 A Spanish Fir in Tasmanian botanical gardens |
 Foliage of a Spanish Fir |
 Foliage and trunk of a Spanish Fir |
