The Blister Pine in West Virginia 



Earl L. Core 



The Blister Pine occurs at two localities, perhaps elsewhere, 

 in mountain swamps of West Virginia: in Canaan Valley, 

 Tucker county and at Cheatbridge, in Randolph county. Mills- 

 paugh 1 originally referred the West Viriginia plant to Abies 

 balsamea Miller. However, its characters did not seem to match 

 exactly those of that species and he later 2 decided that the West 

 Virginia plants belonged rather to A. Fraseri (Pursh) Lindl. 

 Recent studies made by the writer have emphasized the un- 

 certainty of identification, and the geographical position, mid- 

 way between the range of the northern species (A. balsamea) 

 and that of the southern one (A. Fraseri), suggests that ours 

 may represent a distinct species, possibly derived by hybridiza- 



Fig. 1 Abies balsamea Miller, from Vermont a, scales and bracts; b, seeds 

 Fig. 2 A. Fraseri (Pursh) Lindl., from North Carolina a, scales and bracts; 



b, seeds 

 Fig. 3 A. ?, from West Virginia a, scales and bracts; b, seeds 



i Millspaugh, C. F., Bull. W. Va. Agr. Exp. Sta. '2:477. 1892. 

 2 Millspaugh, C. F., W. Va. Geol. Surv. V(A):201. 1913. 



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