Abies numidica

Abies numidica Algerian fir
Conservation status
Critically Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Pinophyta
Class:	Pinopsida
Order:	Pinales
Family:	Pinaceae
Genus:	Abies
Species:	A. numidica
Binomial name
Abies numidica de Lannoy ex Carrière

Abies numidica (Algerian fir) is a species of fir, found only in Algeria, where it is endemic on Djebel Babor, the second-highest mountain (2,004 m) in the Algerian Tell Atlas.^[1][2]

Description

Abies numidica is a medium-sized to large evergreen tree growing to 20–35 m tall, with a trunk up to 1 m diameter. The leaves are needle-like, moderately flattened, 1.5–2.5 cm long and 2–3 mm wide by 1 mm thick, glossy dark green with a patch of greenish-white stomata near the tip above, and with two greenish-white bands of stomata below. The tip of the leaf is variable, usually pointed, but sometimes slightly notched at the tip, particularly on slow-growing shoots on older trees. The cones are glaucous green with a pink or violet tinge, maturing brown, 10–20 cm long and 4 cm broad, with about 150–200 scales, each scale with a short bract (not visible on the closed cone) and two winged seeds; they disintegrate when mature to release the seeds.^[2]

Distribution

Abies numidica grows in a high-altitude Mediterranean climate at 1,800–2,004 m (rarely down to 1,220 m) with an annual precipitation of 1,500–2,000 mm, the great majority of which falls as winter snow; the summers are warm and very dry. It is closely related to Abies pinsapo (Spanish fir), which occurs further west in the Rif mountains of Morocco and in southern Spain.^[2]

Cultivation and uses

Algerian fir, Abies numidica, is occasionally grown as an ornamental tree in parks and larger gardens. It is valued among firs for its drought tolerance.

References

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