''Abies bracteata'', the Santa Lucia fir or bristlecone fir, is the rarest and most

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

fir in North America, and according to some, the world. It is confined to steep-sided slopes and the bottoms of rocky canyons in the

Santa Lucia Mountains The Santa Lucia Mountains (sæntə luˈsiːə) or Santa Lucia Range is a rugged mountain range in coastal central California, running from Carmel southeast for to the Cuyama River in San Luis Obispo County. The range is never more than from ...

, in the Big Sur region on the central coast of

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, United States.

Location

The species may have had a broader range in

Paleoendemic Paleoendemism along with neoendemism is a possible subcategory of endemism. Paleoendemism refers to species that were formerly widespread but are now restricted to a smaller area. Neoendemism refers to species that have recently arisen, such as thro ...

era, although some scientists say no fossil evidence of the tree has been conclusively identified. The tree is now confined, possibly due to long-term climatic changes, to a few, small locales that mimic those of the distant past.

Fire susceptibility

The fir tends to be concentrated in steep, rocky, fire-resistant spots at elevations from . Due to the tree's thin bark, it is susceptible to fire, and large stands are always located near high cliffs or in steep, rugged canyons that prevent litter accumulation under the tree canopy and limit the strength of fires.

Known stands

The fir currently grows in a few scattered areas within the Santa Lucia Mountains along the Pacific Slope of California. Four concentrations are found in the vicinity of the

Ventana Double Cone The Ventana Double Cone at is one of the tallest peaks in the Ventana Wilderness within the Monterey Ranger District of the Los Padres National Forest in Central California. The summit is a difficult hike from the nearest trail head, making it o ...

and Kandlbinder Peaks,

Junipero Serra Peak Junipero Serra Peak is the highest mountain in the Santa Lucia range of central California. It is also the highest peak in Monterey County, and is located within the boundaries of Los Padres National Forest. It is named after Saint Junípero Serr ...

Cone Peak Cone Peak is the second highest mountain in the Santa Lucia Range in the Ventana Wilderness of the Los Padres National Forest. It rises nearly a vertical mile only from the coast as the crow flies. This is one of the steepest gradients from oc ...

, and on the Monterey / San Luis Obispo County line, along San Carpóforo Creek within the Hearst Ranch. The most inland stand, from the Pacific Coast, was found in Anastasia Canyon in the vicinity of the Arroyo Seco River and

Tassajara Hot Springs Tassajara Hot Springs is a collection of natural hot springs within the Ventana Wilderness area of the Santa Lucia Range and Los Padres National Forest in Monterey County, California. The hot springs were used by the indigenous Native Americans f ...

. Most stands are found on north- and northeast-facing slopes. Trees are rarely found under elevation. When found at lower elevations, they are always located at the bottom of a large canyon, where cold air drainage enables it to thrive. The lowest stand is found at an elevation of near Ventana Camp on the

Big Sur River The Big Sur River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed March 15, 2011 river on the Central Coast of California. The river drains a portion of the Big Sur area, a thinly ...

. This camp is at the bottom of a -deep canyon, in the redwood belt, and is frequently foggy. The northernmost tree was located in 1927 at elevation on Skinners Ridge to the east of the North Fork of the

Little Sur River The Little Sur River is a long river on the Central Coast of California. The river and its main tributary, the South Fork, drain a watershed of about of the Big Sur area, a thinly settled region of the Central California coast where the Santa ...

, but it's not known if it survived subsequent fires.

First identified

The first known specimen was collected in 1831 or 1832 by either botanists

Thomas Coulter Thomas Coulter (1793–1843), of Dundalk, was an Irish physician, botanist and explorer. He was a member of the Royal Irish Academy, a fellow of Trinity College, Dublin, and founder of that college's herbarium. After completing a medical de ...

or David Douglas. They likely collected specimens from Cone Peak to the west of Mission San Antonio. Both sent specimens to England, but Coulter's specimen was first identified as ''bracteata'' and the name given his species has become the common use.

Cultivation

The tree is a popular ornamental and is found in many

arboreta An arboretum (plural: arboreta) in a general sense is a botanical collection composed exclusively of trees of a variety of species. Originally mostly created as a section in a larger garden or park for specimens of mostly non-local species, man ...

. It grows in an equable Mediterranean climate with considerable precipitation during the winter and very dry summers. No one has been able to introduce it successfully in the eastern United States, but numerous groves thrive in Europe.

Description

The tall tree, has a slender, spire-like form. The thin bark is reddish-brown with wrinkles, lines and

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 n ...

vesicles ('blisters'). The branches are downswept. The needle-like leaves are arranged spirally on the shoot, but twisted at the base to spread either side of the shoot in two moderately forward-pointing ranks with a 'v' gap above the shoot. The leaves are hard and stiff with a sharply pointed tip, 3.5–6 cm long and 2.5–3 mm broad, with two bright white stomatal bands on the underside. The flowers bloom in early May, and the ovoid, 6–9 cm long (to 12 cm including the bracts)

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 ...

mature and release 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 from late August to October. The cones differ from other firs in that the bracts end in very long, spreading, yellow-brown bristles 3–5 cm long. The male ( pollen) cones are 2 cm long, shedding pollen in spring.

Historical uses

Resin from the trunk was used as an incense by the early Spanish mission.

References

''This article contains content from public domain United States government sources.''

External links

CalFlora Database: ''Abies bracteata'' (Santa Lucia fir)Jepson Flora Project Treatment: ''Abies bracteata''Interactive Distribution Map of ''Abies bracteata''

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1070125 bracteata Endemic flora of California Trees of the Southwestern United States Natural history of the California Coast Ranges Santa Lucia Range Natural history of Monterey County, California Natural history of San Luis Obispo County, California ~ Near threatened plants Big Sur