''Abies procera'', the noble fir, also called red fir and Christmas tree, is a species of fir native to the

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...

and

Pacific Coast Ranges The Pacific Coast Ranges (officially gazetted as the Pacific Mountain System in the United States) are the series of mountain ranges that stretch along the West Coast of North America from Alaska south to Northern and Central Mexico. Although the ...

of the northwestern Pacific Coast of the United States. It occurs at altitudes of .

Description

''A. procera'' 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, whic ...

conifer 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 ext ...

with a narrow conic crown, growing up to tall and in trunk diameter, rarely to tall and thick. The

bark Bark may refer to: * Bark (botany), an outer layer of a woody plant such as a tree or stick * Bark (sound), a vocalization of some animals (which is commonly the dog) Places * Bark, Germany * Bark, Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship, Poland Arts, e ...

on young trees is smooth and gray with

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 nat ...

blisters, becoming red-brown, rough and fissured on old trees, usually less than thick; the inner bark is reddish. The

leaves A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, st ...

are needle-like, long, glaucous blue-green above and below with strong

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 bo ...

l bands, and a blunt to notched tip. They are arranged spirally on the shoot, but twisted slightly S-shaped to be upcurved above the shoot. The cones are erect, long and thick, with the purple scales almost completely hidden by the long exserted yellow-green bract scales; they ripen brown and disintegrate to release the 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 angiosper ...

s in fall. Viable seeds are only produced every few years. The species can grow for up to 200 years.

Taxonomy

David Douglas discovered the species in the

in the early 19th century, calling it the "noble fir". The specific epithet ''procera'' means "tall". It is the world's tallest true fir.

Distribution

The species is native to the Cascade Range and

of western

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

and

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, as well as the extreme northwest 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 ...

. It is a high-altitude tree, typically occurring at altitudes of , often above , and only rarely reaching the

tree line The tree line is the edge of the habitat at which trees are capable of growing. It is found at high elevations and high latitudes. Beyond the tree line, trees cannot tolerate the environmental conditions (usually cold temperatures, extreme snow ...

Ecology

The species is very closely related to '' Abies magnifica'' (red fir), which replaces it farther southeast in southernmost Oregon and California, being best distinguished by the leaves having a groove along the midrib on the upper side; red fir does not show this. Red fir also tends to have the leaves less closely packed, with the shoot bark visible between the leaves, whereas the shoot is largely hidden in noble fir. Red fir cones also mostly have shorter bracts, except in ''A. magnifica'' var. ''shastensis'' (Shasta red fir); this

variety 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), ...

hybridizes with noble fir and may itself be a hybrid between noble fir and red fir. As opposed to Shasta red fir, noble fir is

shade-intolerant In ecology, shade tolerance is a plant's ability to tolerate low light levels. The term is also used in horticulture and landscaping, although in this context its use is sometimes imprecise, especially in labeling of plants for sale in commercial ...

, leaving its lower trunk branchless. Noble fir occurs with

Douglas-fir The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Oregon pine, and Columbian pine. There are three va ...

and

western hemlock ''Tsuga heterophylla'', the western hemlock or western hemlock-spruce, is a species of hemlock native to the west coast of North America, with its northwestern limit on the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska, and its southeastern limit in northern Sonoma ...

at middle elevations, and with

Pacific silver fir ''Abies amabilis'', commonly known as the Pacific silver fir, is a fir native to the Pacific Northwest of North America, occurring in the Pacific Coast Ranges and the Cascade Range. It is also commonly referred to as the white fir, red fir, love ...

and mountain hemlock at higher elevations. It occurs in cool, humid areas similar to those occupied by Pacific silver fir. While it benefits from occasional disturbances (e.g. the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens), it is very susceptible to fire but is usually protected by its moist environment. It is relatively resistant to damage from wind, insects or diseases. Although the roots grow slowly, it can survive in very rocky soil as long as it is moist.

Uses

The Paiute used the foliage to treat coughs and colds. The superior light and strong

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 ...

was recognized early by loggers, who called it "larch" to avoid conflating it with inferior firs. The wood is used for specialized applications such as ladders, general structural purposes and

paper Paper is a thin sheet material produced by mechanically or chemically processing cellulose fibres derived from wood, rags, grasses or other vegetable sources in water, draining the water through fine mesh leaving the fibre evenly distribu ...

manufacture. It may have been used for the frames of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

Mosquito bomber The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British twin-engined, shoulder-winged, multirole combat aircraft, introduced during the World War II, Second World War. Unusual in that its frame was constructed mostly of wood, it was nicknamed the "Wooden ...

s during World War II. David Douglas sent noble fir seeds to Britain in 1830, introducing it to horticulturalists. It is a popular and favored

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 ...

. The prostrate grey

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...

''A. procera'' (Glauca Group) 'Glauca Prostrata' has gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nor ...

Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established annual award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions. History The Award of Garden Merit ...

. File:Abies procera cone.jpg, Cone File:Weibliche Zapfen der Edeltanne (Abies procera)02.JPG, Cones File:Abies procera.jpg, Foliage

References

External links

USDA Plants Profile for ''Abies procera'' (noble fir)

Interactive Distribution Map of ''Abies procera''

��Gymnosperm Database
Jepson Manual Treatment: ''Abies procera''

��'' Arboretum de Villardebelle''
photos of foliage and cones
��''Arboretum de Villardebelle''
''Abies procera''
��U.C. Photo gallery {{Taxonbar, from=Q1283223 procera Flora of the Cascade Range Flora of the Klamath Mountains Least concern flora of the United States Trees of the Northwestern United States Trees of the United States Trees of the West Coast of the United States Trees of North America Trees of the Western United States