''Abies veitchii'' (Veitch's fir; シラビソ or シラベ shirabiso or shirabe), also known as Veitch's silver-fir, is a

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 ...

native to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

on the islands of

Honshū , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island separa ...

and

Shikoku is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is long and between wide. It has a population of 3.8 million (, 3.1%). It is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu. Shikoku's ancient names include ''Iyo-no-futana-shima'' (), '' ...

. It lives in moist soils in cool wet mountain forests at elevations of 1500–2800 m. It is very shade-tolerant when young, but is not long-lived. It is a

coniferous Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All extant ...

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 ...

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 at a fast rate to 25–30 m tall. The crown is narrowly conical with horizontal branches and pubescent shoots. The shoots are pubescent, with short brown hairs. 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 and flattened, 1–3 cm long and 2 mm broad. They are glossy dark green above with two conspicuous bluish 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 ...

tal bands underneath, and the tips are notched. The foliage is dense and points forward along the shoot, with the inner leaves being shorter and more erect than the lower leaves. The

cone 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 con ...

is purple-brown, cylindrical, 4–7 cm long and tapers slightly. The cones are upright and have slightly exserted and reflexed yellow-green

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

s. The bark is smooth and light grey, and has

resin In polymer chemistry and materials science, resin is a solid or highly viscous substance of plant or synthetic origin that is typically convertible into polymers. Resins are usually mixtures of organic compounds. This article focuses on natu ...

blisters characteristic of many firs. There are two

varieties Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

: *''Abies veitchii'' var. ''veitchii''. Endemic to Honshū; Shoots densely pubescent. Leaves 1.5–3 cm long; stomatal bands bluish white. *''Abies veitchii'' var. ''sikokiana'' (Nakai) Kusaka. Endemic to Shikoku; NT. Shoots thinly pubescent. Leaves 1–2 cm long; stomatal bands white. In many respects intermediate between var. ''veitchii'' and ''

Abies koreana ''Abies koreana'' ( ko, 구상나무, ''Gusang namu''), the Korean fir, is a species of fir native to the higher mountains of South Korea, including Jeju Island. It grows at altitudes of in temperate rainforest with high rainfall and cool, hum ...

'', it has been treated as a distinct species ''Abies sikokiana'' by some authors. The

wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin th ...

is sturdy and

elastic Elastic is a word often used to describe or identify certain types of elastomer, elastic used in garments or stretchable fabrics. Elastic may also refer to: Alternative name * Rubber band, ring-shaped band of rubber used to hold objects togeth ...

, and is used in

construction Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and com ...

box A box (plural: boxes) is a container used for the storage or transportation of its contents. Most boxes have flat, parallel, rectangular sides. Boxes can be very small (like a matchbox) or very large (like a shipping box for furniture), and can ...

es, utensils, and spindles. Veitch's fir is a popular

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 ...

and is occasionally grown for

Christmas tree A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen conifer, such as a spruce, pine or fir, or an artificial tree of similar appearance, associated with the celebration of Christmas. The custom was further developed in early modern ...

References and external links

* Katsuki, T., Rushforth, K. & Zhang, D. 2011
''Abies veitchii''.
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.3. Downloaded on 26 March 2015. *Liu, T. S. (1971). ''A Monograph of the genus Abies''. National Taiwan University. *Coombes, J. Allen (1992). ''Eyewitness Handbooks: Trees''. London & New York: Dorling Kindersley.
''Abies veitchii'' - Plants For A Future database reportConifers Around the World: Abies veitchii - Veitch Fir

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1542823 veitchii Trees of Japan Endemic flora of Japan Veitch Nurseries Taxa named by John Lindley