''Abies borisii-regis'' (Bulgarian fir) is a species of
fir native to the
mountain
A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited Summit (topography), summit area, and ...
s of the
Balkan Peninsula
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
in
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
, northern
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
,
Kosovo
Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
,
North Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...
,
Albania
Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...
and
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
. It occurs at altitudes of 800–1,800 m, on mountains with an annual rainfall of over 1,000 mm.
[Farjon, A. (1998). ''World Checklist and Bibliography of Conifers''. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew .][Rushforth, K. (1987). ''Conifers''. Helm .][Rushforth, K. (1999). ''Trees of Britain and Europe''. Collins .][Liu, T.-S. (1971). ''A Monograph of the Genus Abies''. National Taiwan University.][Gymnosperm Database]
''Abies borisii-regis''
![Abies borisii-regis Vihren 1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/Abies_borisii-regis_Vihren_1.jpg)
It is a large
evergreen
In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has foliage that remains green and functional through more than one growing season. This also pertains to plants that retain their foliage only in warm climates, and contrasts with deciduous plants, which ...
conifer
Conifers are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single ...
ous
tree
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...
growing to 40–50 m (exceptionally 60 m) tall and with a trunk diameter of up to 1.5 m. The
leaves
A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...
are needle-like, flattened, 1.8–3.5 cm long and 2 mm wide by 0.5 mm thick, glossy dark green above, and with two blue-white bands of
stomata
In botany, a stoma (from Greek ''στόμα'', "mouth", plural "stomata"), also called a stomate (plural "stomates"), is a pore found in the epidermis of leaves, stems, and other organs, that controls the rate of gas exchange. The pore is bor ...
below. The tip of the leaf is variable, usually pointed, but sometimes slightly notched at the tip, particularly on slow-growing shoots on older trees. The
cones
A cone is a three-dimensional geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a flat base (frequently, though not necessarily, circular) to a point called the apex or vertex.
A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines, or lines conn ...
are 10–21 cm long and 4 cm broad, with about 150–200 scales, each scale with an exserted bract and two winged
seed
A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...
s; they disintegrate when mature to release the seeds.
[
It is closely related to (and in many respects intermediate between) ]silver fir
Silver fir is a common name for several trees and may refer to:
*''Abies alba
''Abies alba'', the European silver fir or silver fir, is a fir native to the mountains of Europe, from the Pyrenees north to Normandy, east to the Alps and the Car ...
to the north in central Europe, Greek fir
''Abies cephalonica'' or Greek fir is a fir native to the mountains of Greece, primarily in the Peloponnesos and the island of Kefallonia, intergrading with the closely related Bulgarian fir further north in the Pindus mountains of northern Gr ...
to the south in southern Greece, and Nordmann fir
''Abies nordmanniana'', the Nordmann fir or Caucasian fir, is a fir Indigenous (ecology), indigenous to the mountains south and east of the Black Sea, in Turkey, Georgia (country), Georgia and the Russian Caucasus. It occurs at altitudes of 900 ...
to the east in northern Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
. Some botanists treat it as a natural hybrid
Hybrid may refer to:
Science
* Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding
** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species
** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...
between silver Fir and Greek fir, while others treat it as a variety of silver fir, as ''Abies alba'' var. ''acutifolia''. Another synonym is ''Abies pardei''.[
The scientific name honours Tsar Boris III of Bulgaria, during whose reign it was described as a new species in 1925. The name is sometimes cited without a hyphen (''Abies borisiiregis''), though under the provisions of ]ICBN
The ''International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants'' (ICN) is the set of rules and recommendations dealing with the formal botanical names that are given to plants, fungi and a few other groups of organisms, all those "trad ...
Article 60.9 the hyphen is to be retained.
See also
*List of Balkan endemic plants
The Balkan endemic plants includes a number of unique taxa and (species, subspecies, variety and forms) that are widespread in a variety of sizes area and,
including stenoendemics.
The following list of endemic plants on the Balkans includes all ...
*List of organisms named after famous people (born 1800–1899)
In biological nomenclature, organisms often receive scientific names that honor a person. A taxon (e.g. species or genus; plural: taxa) named in honor of another entity is an eponym, eponymous taxon, and names specifically honoring a person or pers ...
References
External links
''Abies borisii-regis''
Distribution map, genetic conservation units and related resources. European Forest Genetic Resources Programme
European Forest Genetic Resources Programme (EUFORGEN) is an international network that supports the conservation and sustainable use of forest genetic resources in Europe. The programme’s tasks include to coordinate and promote ''in situ
' ...
(EUFORGEN)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abies borisii-regis
borisii-regis
Flora of Bulgaria
Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN