''Abies numidica'', the Algerian fir, is a species of

fir Firs (''Abies'') are a genus of 48–56 species of evergreen coniferous trees in the family (biology), family Pinaceae. They are found on mountains throughout much of North America, North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa. The ...

found only in Algeria, where it is endemic on

Djebel Babor The Babor Range ( ar, جبل البابور; kab, Idurar n Babuṛ) is a mountain range of the Tell Atlas in Algeria. The highest point of the range is 2,004 m high Mount Babor. The Babor Range, together with the neighboring Bibans, is part of t ...

, the second-highest mountain (2,004 meters) in the Algerian Tell Atlas.Farjon, A. (1990). ''Pinaceae. Drawings and Descriptions of the Genera''. Koeltz Scientific Books .

Description

''Abies numidica'' is a medium-sized to large evergreen tree growing to 20–35 meters tall, with a trunk up to 1 meter diameter. 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, moderately flattened, 1.5–2.5 centimeters long and 2–3 millimeters wide by 1 millimeters thick, glossy dark green with a patch of greenish-white

stoma 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 ...

ta near the tip above, and with two greenish-white bands of stomata 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 are glaucous green with a pink or violet tinge, maturing brown, 10–20 centimeters long and 4 centimeters broad, with about 150–200 scales, each scale with a short bract (not visible on the closed cone) and two winged seeds; they disintegrate when mature to release the seeds.

Distribution

''Abies numidica'' grows in a high-altitude Mediterranean climate at 1,800–2,004 meters (and rarely down to 1,220 meters) with an annual precipitation of 1,500–2,000 milliliters, the great majority of which falls as winter snow; the summers are warm and very dry. It is closely related to '' Abies pinsapo'' (Spanish fir), which occurs further west in the Rif mountains of Morocco and in southern Spain.

Cultivation and uses

Algerian fir, ''Abies numidica'', is occasionally grown as an

ornamental tree Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...

in parks and larger gardens. It is valued among firs for its drought tolerance.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2004978 numidica Endemic flora of Algeria Critically endangered flora of Africa Garden plants of Africa Ornamental trees Drought-tolerant trees Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxa named by Élie-Abel Carrière