Abies fraseri

Pinaceae Abies fraseri (Pursh) Poir.

Etymology
Abies refers to ‘to rise’; indicating large trees.
fraseri refers to the plant collector John Fraser.

Colloquial Name
Fraser’s fir

Description
These trees grow up to 15 meters tall with a straight, column-like trunk that remains unbranched lower down. The crown is narrow and conical, though in open areas, it may become irregular or broader in solitary trees. The bark is smooth and brown in young trees, featuring numerous horizontal resin blisters, but as the tree matures, it becomes rough, scaly, and gray.

The main branches are long, spreading outward or angling slightly upward near the top. Smaller branches are slender and either extend horizontally or curve upward. The young twigs are pale yellowish-brown and darken to a deeper brown in their second year. They have shallow grooves and are covered in fine, reddish hairs that persist for some time. The scars left by fallen needles are circular.

The buds are broadly oval, about 4 millimeters long and 3 millimeters wide, and highly resinous. They are covered in dark reddish-brown scales, which are coated in yellowish resin and remain on the tree for several years. The needles are arranged in a spiral around the branches, with the lower ones spreading outward in a comb-like pattern and the upper ones curving upward. On cone-bearing branches, they tend to be more sharply angled upward. They measure between 1 and 2.3 centimeters in length and 2 to 2.2 millimeters in width. Their base is slightly twisted or curved, and they are narrow, sometimes slightly sickle-shaped, with the widest part near the tip, which is usually rounded but can sometimes be pointed or notched. The upper surface is dark green, while the underside has two distinct whitish bands. Stomata, the tiny pores used for gas exchange, are found in two bands separated by a midrib on the underside, with a few also appearing in a central groove on the upper surface.

The pollen cones are clustered along the lower sides of branches, hanging downward. They are small, about 1 centimeter long, and yellow with red pollen-producing structures. The seed cones grow upright on short stalks, often appearing in clusters. They are oblong and conical with a slightly narrowed, rounded tip, measuring between 4 and 8 centimeters long and 2.5 to 4 centimeters wide. When young, they are dark purple with yellowish bracts, later maturing to purplish-brown with pale brown bracts. Once the seeds are released, the cone’s central axis remains as a narrow, dark brown, conical structure.

The scales of the cone are broad and fan-shaped to kidney-shaped, measuring between 0.8 and 1.2 centimeters in length and 1 to 1.5 centimeters in width at the middle of the cone. Their surface is smooth but has fine hairs on exposed areas. The upper edges are slightly curved inward, and the base tapers into a long stalk. The bracts, which are the small leaf-like structures between the cone scales, are oblong or slightly wider at the tip, with a shallowly notched apex and a short, pointed extension. They measure 1.5 to 2 centimeters in length and are prominently extended outward and bent backward, covering most of the seed scales.

The seeds are small, about 5 to 6 millimeters long, with an oblong, wedge-like shape and a dark purplish-black color. They are attached to asymmetrically shaped wings that measure around 5 to 6 millimeters long and 5 millimeters wide, with a purplish-brown hue.

Distribution

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TDWG Codes
7, 78, NCA, TEN, VRG

Habitat
The natural habitats for Abies fraseri are temperate forests. It is naturally found at an elevation of at least 2000 up to 2000 metres. Other conifers associated with Abies fraseri are:

USDA Hardiness zone – 4
Abies fraseri is hardy to USDA Zone 4 (Bannister & Neuner, 2001), meaning its frost tolerance lies somewhere in the range of -34.4C (-30F) to 28.9C (-20F).

Species Continuity
The population trend for Abies fraseri is decreasing. There are ongoing threats for Abies fraseri and they are listed as follows:

• 3 Climate Change & Natural Disasters
  • 3.2 Storms / Flooding & Other Events
• 4 Invasive Species / Pathogens & Genetic Risks
  • 4.1 Invasive Non-Native Species & Diseases
• 5 Natural System Modifications
  • 5.1 Fire & Fire Suppression

IUCN Category – EN
According to the IUCN Red List, Abies fraseri has been assigned the status of EN(Endangered). This means that according to the Red List criteria, this species qualifies as Endangered and is very much at risk.

Superordinate Taxa
The nearest superordinate taxon for Abies fraseri is Subsect. Medianae. The coordinate taxa for Abies fraseri are therefore:

Abies fraseri is further placed under Abietoideae. Abies fraseri is also placed under Pinaceae.

This map shows botanical records (points) for this taxon. By opening the map’s sidebar (collapsed by default) you can toggle visibility or change the basemap. By clicking on records, you reveal more information.

Cultivars
‘Blue Bonnet’, ‘Brandon Recker’, ‘Fantasticooli’, ‘Flynn’s Flash’ , ‘Ford WB’, ‘Franklin’, ‘Frederick’, ‘Gee’, ‘Gee’ WB’ , ‘Julian Potts’, ‘Klein’s Dwarf’ , ‘Kline’s Nest’, ‘Kostelec’, ‘Palmeri’, ‘Piglet’s WB’, ‘Prostrata’, ‘Raul’s Dwarf’, ‘Rawles’, ‘Reeseville Ridge’