Pacific Silver Fir
Pacific Silver Fir is a
fir native to the
Pacific Northwest of
North America, occurring in the Pacific Coast Ranges and the
Cascade Range from the extreme southeast of
Alaska, through western
British Columbia,
Washington and
Oregon, to the extreme northwest of
California. It grows at altitudes of sea level to 1,500 m in the north of the range, and 1,000-2,300 m in the south of the range, always in
temperate rain forest with high rainfall and cool, humid summers.
It is a large
evergreen coniferous tree growing to 30-45 m tall and with a trunk diameter of up to 1.2 m .
Encyclopedia
Pacific Silver Fir is a
fir native to the
Pacific Northwest of
North America, occurring in the Pacific Coast Ranges and the
Cascade Range from the extreme southeast of
Alaska, through western
British Columbia,
Washington and
Oregon, to the extreme northwest of
California. It grows at altitudes of sea level to 1,500 m in the north of the range, and 1,000-2,300 m in the south of the range, always in
temperate rain forest with high rainfall and cool, humid summers.
It is a large
evergreen coniferous tree growing to 30-45 m tall and with a trunk diameter of up to 1.2 m . The bark on younger trees is light grey, thin and covered with
resin blisters. On older trees, it darkens and develops scales and furrows. The
leaves are needle-like, flattened, 2-4.5 cm long and 2 mm wide by 0.5 mm thick, matt dark green above, and with two white bands of
stomata below, and slightly notched at the tip. The leaf arrangement is spiral on the shoot, but with each leaf variably twisted at the base so they lie flat to either side of and above the shoot, with none below the shoot. The shoots are orange-red with dense velvety pubescence. The
cones are 9-17 cm long and 4-6 cm broad, dark purple before maturity; the scale bracts are short, and hidden in the closed cone. The winged
seeds are released when the cones disintegrate at maturity about 6-7 months after pollination.
Pacific Silver Fir is very closely related to
Maries' Fir A. mariesii from
Japan, which is distinguished by its slightly shorter leaves and smaller cones .
Uses
The
wood is soft and not very strong; it is used for
paper making, packing crates and other cheap construction work. The foliage has an attractive scent, and is sometimes used for
Christmas decoration, including
Christmas trees.
It is also planted as an ornamental tree in large parks, though its requirement for cool, humid summers limits the areas where it grows well; successful growth away from its native range is restricted to areas like western
Scotland and southern
New Zealand.
References
External links
