Abies religiosa

Pinaceae Abies religiosa (Kunth) Schltdl. & Cham.

Etymology
Abies refers to ‘to rise’; indicating large trees.
religiosa refers to the traditional ‘religious’ importance of this fir.

Colloquial Name
Sacred fir, Oyamel fir

Description
These trees typically reach 40 meters in height, though some can grow up to 50 or 60 meters, with trunks measuring up to 2 meters in diameter. The trunk is straight and cylindrical, supporting a crown that starts out pyramidal or conical. The bark on young trees is smooth and pale greyish-white, but as the tree ages, it becomes rough, deeply furrowed, and breaks into small grey-brown plates.

The main branches are long and slender, initially growing upward but later spreading out horizontally. The lowest branches often droop downward. Smaller branches grow horizontally or slightly upward. The twigs are thin and firm, especially on the lower parts of the tree. They range in color from reddish-brown to purple-red and have fine ridges and grooves between the leaves. Some grooves may have fine hairs, while other areas remain smooth. The scars left by fallen leaves are circular and light grey.

The buds are small, rounded, and covered in sticky resin. The scales protecting the buds are broad and reddish-brown, with a slight ridge along the center. These scales stay on the tree for several years. The leaves grow in a spiral pattern around the branches, forming a comb-like arrangement on non-flowering shoots, while on shoots with cones, they spread more evenly in all directions with a slight upward curve. They measure between 1.5 and 3 cm long, sometimes reaching 3.5 cm, and are very narrow, only about 1.2 to 1.6 mm wide. The base of each leaf is slightly twisted. They have a glossy dark green surface, though some may appear slightly bluish. The underside has two pale whitish bands. The tips of the leaves can be either sharply pointed or more blunt and squared off. Stomata, the tiny pores for gas exchange, are mostly absent on the upper surface but appear in two narrow bands on the underside, separated by a central ridge.

The pollen cones, which produce pollen, grow on the sides of the branches and are somewhat pendulous. They are small, about 1 to 1.5 cm long, and bright yellow with red pollen-producing structures. The seed cones, which develop into woody cones, grow on the sides of the branches and sometimes near the ends. They are usually upright, attached by short, often curved stalks. The shape varies from oval to cylindrical, and some may be slightly curved. The cones range from 10 to 16 cm long, sometimes as small as 8 cm, and 4 to 6 cm wide. When young, they are a deep violet-blue with yellowish bracts, later turning dark purplish-brown as they ripen. The central axis of the cone remains after the seeds are released, forming a narrow, dark brown, cone-shaped structure.

The seed scales, which protect the developing seeds inside the cone, are broad and fan-shaped, measuring 2 to 3 cm long and 3 to 3.5 cm wide in the middle of the cone. Their surface is smooth but has a fine layer of short hairs. The upper edge is rounded and unbroken, while the base narrows into a small stalk. The bracts behind the seed scales are narrow and spoon-shaped, with a long tapering tip. They measure 3 to 3.5 cm in length and stick out from the cone, curving backward to cover part of the seed scales.

The seeds are oblong and wedge-shaped, measuring about 10 mm long and 5 mm wide, with a smooth, shiny brown surface. Each seed has a broad, flattened wing, 10 to 15 mm long, which is brown in color and helps with wind dispersal.

Distribution

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TDWG Codes
7, 79, MXC, MXC-DF, MXC-ME, MXC-MO, MXC-PU, MXC-TL, MXE, MXE-GU, MXE-HI, MXE-NL, MXE-QU, MXE-SL, MXE-TA, MXG, MXG-VC, MXN, MXN-SI, MXS, MXS-GR, MXS-MI, MXS-JA, MXS-OA

Habitat
The natural habitats for Abies religiosa are temperate forests. It is naturally found at an elevation of at least 4100 up to 4100 metres. Other conifers associated with Abies religiosa are:

USDA Hardiness zone – 8
Abies religiosa is hardy to USDA Zone 8 (Bannister & Neuner, 2001), meaning its frost tolerance lies somewhere in the range of -12.2C (10F) to -6.7C (20F).

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

• 1 Habitat Loss & Degradation
  • 1.1 Agriculture & Forestry
• 2 Overexploitation & Resource Use
  • 2.1 Logging & Wood Harvesting

IUCN Category – LC
According to the IUCN Red List, Abies religiosa has been assigned the status of LC(Least Concern). This means that according to the Red List criteria, this species is not qualified as threatened.

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

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

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