PINACEAE 



Balsam Fir 



Abies balsamea (L). Mill. 



HABIT. A medium-sized tree 40-60 feet high and l-lVz 

 feet in diameter (max. 85 by 2 feet) ; a dense, dark green, nar- 

 rowly pyramidal crown with a slender spirelike tip. 



LEAVES. On lower branches 2-ranked, Va-IVz inches long, 

 scattered, flattened, blunt, or notched; on upper branches 

 shorter, spreading, and crowded; dark green above, with two 

 silvery bands of stomata below. 



FLOWERS. Male of yellow anthers; female, scales. 



FRUIT. 2-4 inches long, oblong-cylindric, dark purple; 

 scales longer than broad, and twice as long as short, pointed 

 bracts. Seed: H inch long, with broad purple-brown wings. 



TWIGS. Slender; finely pubescent and yellow-green; be- 

 coming smooth and gray to purple. Winter buds: subglobose, 

 resin-covered, Yq-V^ inch long, with orange-green scales. 



BARK. Thin, ash-gray, smooth except for numerous resin 

 blisters on young trees; becoming Yz inch thick, red-brown, and 

 broken into thin scales. 



WOOD. Soft and brittle; used for pulp, boxes, etc.; resin 

 in bark blisters is source of Canada balsam. 



SILVICAL CHARACTERS. Tolerant (less so than spruce), 

 recovering well from suppression; a short-lived tree reaching 

 an age of 150 years, but generally defective before 90 years; 

 reproduction plentiful and aggressive; shallow root system; 

 lower branches sometimes take root, producing new trees. 



HABITAT. Canadian and Hudsonian zones; demands 

 abundant soil moisture and humid atmosphere; forms pure 

 stands in swamps; on higher sites in mixture with spruce, hem- 

 lock, and broad-leafed species. The variety phanerolephis Fern, 

 ranging north from northern Virginia has slightly exposed fruit 

 bracts. 



* * * 



Eraser fir, Abies fraseri (Pursh) Poir., is a tree of the high 

 mountains of Tennessee, North Carolina, and southwestern 

 Virginia. It is very similar to balsam fir except for the long fruit 

 bracts which extend beyond the scales and are strongly reflexed. 



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