| White Fir | |
|---|---|
| Sierra Nevada White Fir in Yosemite National Park |
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Division: | Pinophyta |
| Class: | Pinopsida |
| Order: | Pinales |
| Family: | Pinaceae |
| Genus: | Abies |
| Species: | A. concolor |
| Binomial name | |
| Abies concolor (Gordon) Lindley ex Hildebrand |
|
| Range | |
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 (80-197 ft) tall and with a trunk diameter of up to 2 m (6.5 ft). It is popular as an ornamental landscaping tree and as a Christmas Tree. It is sometimes known as a Concolor Fir.
Contents |
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 stomatal bloom 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:
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]
This tree was discovered by William Lobb on his expedition to California of 1849–1853, having been overlooked previously by David Douglas.[2]
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).[3]
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.
White fir is popular as a Christmas tree and for Christmas decoration owing to its soft needles, generally excellent needle retention, and bright citrus-like scent. It is often marketed as Concolor or White fir.[4]
White Fir is widely planted as an ornamental tree in parks and larger gardens, particularly some cultivars of subsp. concolor selected for very bright glaucous blue foliage, such as cv. 'Violacea'.