Fir

 ( Pinaceae ) 

Conifer cone long that disintegrate at maturity to release the winged . In contrast to , fir cones are erect; they do not hang, unless heavy enough to twist the branch with their weight.

The mature cones are usually brown. When young in summer, they can be green:

Abies grandis, Abies holophylla

or reddish:

Abies alba, A. cephalonica, A. nordmanniana

or bloomed pale glaucous or pinkish:

Abies numidica, Abies pinsapo

or purple to blue, sometimes very dark blue, almost black:

Abies forrestii, Abies fraseri, Abies homolepis, Abies lasiocarpa, Abies pindrow.

Many species are polymorphic in cone colour, with different individuals of the same species producing either green or purple cones:

Abies concolor, Abies koreana (usually purple, rarely green, such as the cultivar 'Flava'), Abies magnifica (usually green, occasionally purple), A. nephrolepis (f.  chlorocarpa green), Abies sibirica, Abies veitchii (f.  olivacea green)

The cone scale bracts can be short and hidden in the mature cone, or long and exposed ('exserted'); this can vary even within a species, e.g. in Abies magnifica var. magnifica, the bracts are hidden, but in var. critchfieldii and var. shastensis, they are exserted. The bracts scales are often a different colour to the cone scales, which can make for a very attractive combination valued in ornamental trees.

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Classification The oldest pollen assignable to the genus dates to the Late Cretaceous in Siberia, with records of leaves and reproductive organs across the Northern Hemisphere from the Eocene onwards.

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Section Abies Section Abies is found in central, south, and eastern Europe and Asia Minor.

• Abies alba – silver fir or European silver fir
• Abies nebrodensis – Sicilian fir
• Abies borisii-regis – Bulgarian fir
• Abies cephalonica – Greek fir
• Abies nordmanniana – Caucasian fir or Nordmann fir
• Abies nordmanniana subsp. equi-trojani – Kazdağı fir, Turkish fir
• Abies pinsapo – Spanish fir
• Abies pinsapo var. marocana – Moroccan fir
• Abies numidica – Algerian fir
• Abies cilicica – Syrian fir

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Section Balsamea Section Balsamea is found in northern Asia and North America, and high mountains further south.

• Abies fraseri – Fraser's fir
• Abies balsamea – balsam fir
• Abies balsamea var. phanerolepis – bracted balsam fir
• Abies lasiocarpa – subalpine fir
• Abies lasiocarpa var. arizonica – corkbark fir
• Abies lasiocarpa var. bifolia – Rocky Mountains subalpine fir
• Abies sibirica – Siberian fir
• Abies sibirica var. semenovii
• Abies sachalinensis – Sakhalin fir
• Abies koreana – Korean fir
• Abies nephrolepis – Khinghan fir
• Abies veitchii – Veitch's fir
• Abies veitchii var. sikokiana – Shikoku fir

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Section Grandis Section Grandis is found in western North America to Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, in lowlands in the north, moderate altitudes in south.

• Abies grandis – grand fir or giant fir
• Abies grandis var. grandis – Coast grand fir
• Abies grandis var. idahoensis – interior grand fir
• Abies concolor – white fir
• Abies concolor subsp. concolor – Rocky Mountain white fir or Colorado white fir
• Abies concolor subsp. lowiana – Low's white fir or Sierra Nevada white fir
• Abies durangensis – Durango fir
• Abies durangensis var. coahuilensis – Coahuila fir
• Abies flinckii – Jalisco fir
• Abies guatemalensis – Guatemalan fir
• Abies guatemalensis var. guatemalensis
• Abies guatemalensis var. jaliscana
• Abies vejarii

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Section Momi Section Momi is found in east and central Asia and the Himalaya, generally at low to moderate altitudes.

• Abies kawakamii – Taiwan fir
• Abies homolepis – Nikko fir
• Abies recurvata – Min fir
• Abies recurvata var. ernestii – Min fir
• Abies firma – Momi fir
• Abies beshanzuensis – Baishanzu fir
• Abies holophylla – Manchurian fir
• Abies chensiensis – Shensi fir
• Abies chensiensis subsp. salouenensis – Salween fir
• Abies pindrow – Pindrow fir
• Abies ziyuanensis – Ziyuan fir

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Section Amabilis Section Amabilis is found in the Pacific Coast mountains in North America and Japan, in high rainfall areas.

• Abies amabilis – Pacific silver fir
• Abies mariesii – Maries' fir

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Section Pseudopicea Section Pseudopicea is found in the Himalaya at high altitudes.

• Abies delavayi – Delavay's fir
• Abies delavayi var. nukiangensis
• Abies delavayi var. motuoensis
• Abies delavayi subsp. fansipanensis
• Abies fabri – Faber's fir
• Abies fabri subsp. minensis
• Abies forrestii – Forrest's fir
• Abies densa – Bhutan fir
• Abies spectabilis – East Himalayan fir
• Abies fargesii – Farges' fir
• Abies fanjingshanensis – Fanjingshan fir
• Abies yuanbaoshanensis – Yuanbaoshan fir
• Abies squamata – flaky fir

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Section Oiamel Section Oiamel is found in central Mexico at high altitudes.

• Abies religiosa – sacred fir
• Abies hickelii – Hickel's fir
• Abies hickelii var. oaxacana – Oaxaca fir

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Section Nobilis Section Nobilis (western United States, high altitudes)

• Abies procera – noble fir
• Abies magnifica – red fir
• Abies magnifica var. shastensis – Shasta red fir

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Section Bracteata Section Bracteata (California coast)

• Abies bracteata – bristlecone fir
• ?† Abies rigida - (Priabonian-Chattian; Colorado)

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Section Incertae sedis Section Incertae sedis

• † Abies milleri – (Extinct) Early Eocene

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Ecology Firs are used as food plants by the of some Lepidoptera species, including Chionodes abella (recorded on white fir), autumnal moth, Korscheltellus (a pest of balsam fir), the engrailed, grey pug, mottled umber, pine beauty and the Cydia illutana (whose caterpillars are recorded to feed on European silver fir cone scales) and Cydia duplicana (on European silver fir bark around injuries or canker).

Abies religiosa (sacred fir) trees give roosting shelter to overwintering Danaus plexippus.

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Phytochemistry Abies produce a variety of . The analyses of the Zavarin groupfrom Smedman et al. 1969 to Zavarin et al. 1977showed variation in terpenoid composition of the bark by genetics, geography, age and size of the tree.

R. W. Hemingway (2018). 9781351075251, CRC Press. ISBN 9781351075251

George M. Barton (2018). 9781351075251, CRC Press. ISBN 9781351075251

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Uses Unllike the Douglas fir, wood of most firs is considered unsuitable for general timber use and is often used as pulp or for the manufacture of plywood and rough timber. It is commonly used in Canadian Lumber Standard graded wood. Because this genus has no insect or decay resistance qualities after logging, it is generally recommended in construction purposes for indoor use only (e.g. indoor drywall on Timber framing). Firwood left outside cannot be expected to last more than 12 to 18 months, depending on the type of climate it is exposed to.

Caucasian fir, Abies procera, Abies fraseri and Abies balsamea are popular , generally considered to be the best for this purpose, with aromatic foliage that does not shed many needles on drying out. Many are also decorative garden trees, notably Abies koreana and Fraser's fir, which produce brightly coloured cones even when very young, still only tall. Many fir species are grown in botanic gardens and other specialist tree collections in Europe and North America.

Abies spectabilis or Talispatra is used in Ayurveda as an antitussive (cough suppressant) drug.

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See also

• Douglas-fir
• List of fir species of Denmark

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Further reading

• Philips, Roger. Trees of North America and Europe, Random House, Inc., New York , 1979.

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External links

• Abies at The Gymnosperm Database
• Abies from the website Trees and Shrubs Online
• Michael P. FRANKIS CONE COLLECTION: Abies at the Arboretum de Villardebelle—images of cones of selected species
• Platt, Karen "Gold Fever" provides descriptions of golden or yellow-leaved Abies cultivars