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Scientific name: Abies lasiocarpa (Hooker) Nuttall 1849
Synonyms: Abies amabilis Parl., Abies balsamea subsp. lasiocarpa (Hook.) B.Boivin, Abies bifolia A.Murray bis, Abies concolor var. lasiocarpa (Hook.) Beissn., Abies grandis var. lasiocarpa (Hook.) Lavallée, Abies lasciocarpa Sarg., Abies lasiocarpa subsp. bifolia (A.Murray bis) Silba, Abies lasiocarpa var. bifolia (A.Murray bis) Eckenw., Abies lasiocarpa var. conica Hornibr., Abies lasiocarpa var. fallax (Engelm.) Franco, Abies lasiocarpa var. lasiocarpa, Abies subalpina Engelm., Abies subalpina var. fallax Engelm., Picea bifolia A.Murray bis, Picea lasiocarpa (Hook.) A.Murray bis, Pinus lasiocarpa Hook.
Infraspecific taxa: Abies lasiocarpa var. arizonica (Merriam) Lemmon 1898
Common names: Subalpine fir, Alpine fir, Balsam fir, White fir, Mountain Balsam fir, White balsam, Western Balsam fir, Rocky Mountain fir
Tree to 30(-40) m tall, with trunk to 1.2(-2) m in diameter. Bark reddish to dark gray when young, soon breaking up into scales or becoming thick and corky with age in the southern Rocky Mountains. Branchlets reddish brown, hairy, finely, finely grooved between the leaf attachments. Buds 3-6 mm long, resinous at the tips or overall. Needles arranged all around the twigs but turned to the sides and above on both upper and lower branches, (1-)1.5-2.5(-3) cm long, light green or bluish green with wax above, the tips notched or rounded. Individual needles flat in cross section and with a large resin canal in the center of either side, with three to six rows of stomates in a groove above and three to five rows in each stomatal band beneath. Pollen cones 13-20 mm long, greenish purple. Seed cones cylindrical, (5-)7-10(-12) cm long, (2-)3-4 cm across, dull purple when young, maturing purplish brown. Bracts much shorter than the densely short-hairy scales (hence the scientific name, “hairy fruit”) and hidden by them (except when stunted by cone insects). Persistent cone axis narrowly cylindrical. Seed body 5-7 cm long, the wing up to about twice as long. Cotyledons three to six.
Widespread in western North America, from eastern Alaska and the southern Yukon to northwestern California, southeastern Arizona, and southwestern New Mexico. Growing with other conifers such as Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii) and Lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta), in subalpine forests; (600-)1,500-2,700(-3,500) m.
Red List Category & Criteria: Least Concern
This is the most widespread fir, after Abies balsamea, in North America. It is largely confined to high altitudes at the temperate latitudes and of little use as a timber tree. The very large extent of occurrence and large population mean that it is assessed as Least Concern. The variety arizonica is also assessed as Least Concern although it occurs in scattered subpopulations of limited area of occupancy in the southernmost part of the range of the species.
This is a species of the subalpine zone in the high mountains of W North America, occurring from 5 m to 1,500 m a.s.l. in the north of its range and between 600 m and 3,500 m in the Cascade Range and Rocky Mountains. It grows on a variety of high mountain lithosols, wet or dry. The climate is everywhere cold, but humid in the NW and dry in the S of its range, precipitation varies between 500 mm and 3,000 mm annually. It forms usually very open stands with solitary or clustered trees, often mixed with Tsuga mertensiana in the NW and with Picea engelmannii in most of the Rocky Mountains. Other conifers are mainly Pinus spp., and also Abies spp. in the Pacific Northwest. Alpine meadows typically occur between the clumps of conifers. Abies lasiocarpa var. arizonica is most commonly mixed with Picea engelmannii, Pinus aristata and Pinus flexilis, or it occurs in pure stands, at elevations between 2,400 and 3,650 m a.s.l.
Subalpine fir has little or no importance as a timber tree even though its wood properties are generally similar to other species of fir. To a large extent this is of course due to the rich heritage of conifers western North America enjoys above many other parts of the world; there is no need to use them as timber trees. Subalpine fir also tends to grow slowly, remains relatively small and grows in inaccessible places. It may be used locally for construction timber, doors, window frames, boxes and other such products, but the wood tends to be knotty due to the retention of branches. Although it naturally grows into the perfect Christmas tree shape, it is rarely used as such, because it grows slowly and cutting it from its habitat is environmentally destructive. It is also little used in horticulture (except perhaps cultivars derived from var. arizonica) for taking it into the lowlands of temperate regions usually exposes it to damage from 'late' frosts.
No specific threats have been identified for this species: increased fire frequencies and overgrazing by livestock are potential threats. Many subpopulations occur in protected areas.
Abies lasiocarpa ’Alba’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Alpina’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Alpine Beauty’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Argentea’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Auweiler’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Azur’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Bean’s Broom’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Beissneri’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Beth Mini’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Blue Bear’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Blue Nut’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Blue Spiral’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Compacta’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Compacta Glauca’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Compacta Prostrata’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Conica’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Creamy’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Cvikov’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Day Creek’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Duflon’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Elaine’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Flat Top’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Florin’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Frank’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Glacier’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Glauca’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Glauca Compacta’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Globe’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Globosa’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Gonzaga’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Gore Pass’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Green Globe’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Griz’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Hans Christa’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Heike’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Hexenbesen’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Hurricane Blue’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Jade Sky’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Joe’s Alpine’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Jörg’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Kenwith Blue’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Kinzle Pass’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Kyles Alpine’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Last Chance’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Little Nellie’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Logan Pass’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Lopalpun’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Lost Joe’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Malík’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Martha’s Vineyard’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Meyer’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Mikolas’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Mulligan’s Dwarf’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Nana’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Pendula’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Porky’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Prickly Pete’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Pride’s Select’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Rat’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Rhumpa’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Roger Watson’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Sardoc’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Shaalyn’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Shamrock Sky’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Siskiyou’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Smokejumper’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Sonderfeld’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Stanley K.’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Steven Blue’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Sunderfeld’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Tomas’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Tönisvorst’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Utah’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Vanc Variegata’ Abies lasiocarpa ’Zwergform’
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