fir

fir, (genus Abies), genus of more than 40 species of evergreen trees of the conifer family Pinaceae. Although several other coniferous trees are commonly called firs—e.g., the Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga), the hemlock fir (see hemlock), and the joint fir (see Ephedra), true firs are native to North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and northern Africa. Several species are useful as a source of timber, and a number are cultivated as ornamentals, including use as Christmas trees.

Physical description

The firs are distinguished from other genera in the pine family by their leaves. The needlelike leaves of a true fir grow directly from the branch, and the needles’ bases, which are shaped like suction cups, leave conspicuous circular scars when the leaves fall. Each cone is borne in an upright position, and its spikelike axis remains on the branch after the mature cone falls apart. Each thin, rounded cone scale bears two broadly winged seeds.

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Major species

In North America there are 10 native species of fir, found chiefly from the Rocky Mountains westward and attaining their fullest development in the Sierra Nevada and Cascade ranges. Several of these fir species attain immense size: the white fir (Abies concolor), the noble fir (A. nobilis), the California red fir (A. magnifica), and the Pacific silver fir (A. amabilis) all can attain a height of 60 metres (200 feet). With the exception of the noble fir, the wood of most western American firs is inferior to that of pine or spruce but is used for lumber and pulpwood.

Of the two fir species that occur in the eastern United States and Canada, the best known is the balsam fir (A. balsamea), which is a popular ornamental and Christmas tree. It may be 12 to 18 metres (about 40 to 60 feet) tall at maturity, with cones 5 to 10 cm (about 2 to 4 inches) long. Canada balsam, an oleoresin collected from pitch blisters on the balsam fir’s bark, is used to mount specimens on glass slides for microscopic examination.

The silver fir (A. alba) is an ornamental and timber species that is native to Europe and Asia. It is a lofty tree, sometimes reaching 45 metres (150 feet) in height, with large, spreading, horizontal boughs curving upward toward their extremities. The silver fir is abundant in most of the mountain ranges of southern and central Europe, but it is not found in the northern parts of that continent. Extensive forests of silver fir are found in the southern Alps, and the tree is plentiful in the Rhineland and in the Apennine and Pyrenees ranges. In Asia it occurs in the Caucasus and Ural mountains and in some parts of the Altai chain. The silver fir has soft wood that is easily worked and is hence much used in carpentry. The tree yields a high-quality turpentine from blisters on its bark. Burgundy pitch and other resin products are also obtained from the silver fir.

A number of species, including Guatemalan fir (A. guatemalensis), Korean fir (A. koreana), Spanish fir (A. pinsapo), and Ziyuan fir (A. ziyuanensis), are listed as endangered species by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Several are critically endangered, notably Algerian fir (A. numidica) and Sicilian fir (A. nebrodensis), largely due to overharvesting and habitat loss.