The Fraser fir (''Abies fraseri'') is a species of fir native to the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...

of the

Southeastern United States The Southeastern United States, also referred to as the American Southeast or simply the Southeast, is a geographical region of the United States. It is located broadly on the eastern portion of the southern United States and the southern por ...

. ''Abies fraseri'' is closely related to ''

Abies balsamea ''Abies balsamea'' or balsam fir is a North American fir, native to most of eastern and central Canada ( Newfoundland west to central Alberta) and the northeastern United States (Minnesota east to Maine, and south in the Appalachian Mountains to ...

'' (balsam fir), of which it has occasionally been treated as a

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

(as ''A. balsamea'' subsp. ''fraseri'' (Pursh) E.Murray) or a

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), ...

(as ''A. balsamea'' var. ''fraseri'' (Pursh) Spach).Farjon, A. (1990). ''Pinaceae. Drawings and Descriptions of the Genera''. Koeltz Scientific Books .Liu, T.-S. (1971). ''A Monograph of the Genus Abies''. National Taiwan University.Flora of North America
''Abies fraseri''
/ref>Gymnosperm Database
''Abies fraseri''
/ref>

Names

The species ''Abies fraseri'' is named after the Scottish botanist

John Fraser John Fraser may refer to: Politics *John Simon Frederick Fraser (1765–1803), commanded the Fraser Fencibles in Ireland and was (M.P.) for Inverness-shire *John James Fraser (1829–1896), 5th Premier of the Canadian province of New Brunswick, 18 ...

(1750–1811), who made numerous botanical collections in the region. It is sometimes misspelled "Frasier," "Frazer" or "Frazier." In the past, it was also sometimes known as "she-balsam" because resin could be "milked" from its bark blisters, p343 in contrast to the "he balsam" (''

Picea rubens ''Picea rubens'', commonly known as red spruce, is a species of spruce native to eastern North America, ranging from eastern Quebec and Nova Scotia, west to the Adirondack Mountains and south through New England along the Appalachians to western ...

'' (red spruce)) which could not be milked. It has also occasionally been called balsam fir, inviting confusion with ''

'' (balsam fir). p363

Description

''Abies fraseri'' is a small

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 ...

typically growing between tall, but rarely to , with a trunk diameter of , but rarely . The crown is conical, with straight branches either horizontal or angled upward at 40° from the trunk; it is dense when the tree is young and more open in maturity. The bark is thin, smooth, grayish brown, and has numerous

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 ...

ous blisters on juvenile trees, becoming fissured and scaly in maturity. 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; arranged spirally on the twigs but twisted at their bases to form two rows on each twig; they are long and broad; flat; flexible; rounded or slightly notched at their apices (tips); dark to glaucous green adaxially (above); often having a small patch of

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 their apices; and having two silvery white stomatal bands abaxially (on their undersides). Their strong fragrance resembles

turpentine Turpentine (which is also called spirit of turpentine, oil of turpentine, terebenthene, terebinthine and (colloquially) turps) is a fluid obtained by the distillation of resin harvested from living trees, mainly pines. Mainly used as a special ...

. 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 erect; cylindrical; long, rarely , and broad, rarely broad; dark purple, turning pale brown when mature; often resinous; and with long reflexed green, yellow, or pale purple

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 ...

scales. The cones disintegrate when mature at 4–6 months old to release the winged seeds. Some botanists regard the variety of

Balsam fir ''Abies balsamea'' or balsam fir is a North American fir, native to most of eastern and central Canada (Newfoundland west to central Alberta) and the northeastern United States (Minnesota east to Maine, and south in the Appalachian Mountains to ...

named ''Abies balsamea'' var. ''phanerolepis'' 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 ...

with Fraser fir, denominated ''Abies × phanerolepis'' (Fernald) Liu.

Ecology

Reproduction and growth

Fraser fir is monoecious, meaning that both male and female cones (strobili) occur on the same tree. Cone buds usually open from mid-May to early June. Female cones are borne mostly in the top few feet of the crown and on the distal ends of branches. Male cones are borne below female cones, but mostly in the upper half of the crown. Seed production may begin when trees are 15 years old. Seeds germinate well on mineral soil, moss, peat, decaying stumps and logs, and even on detritus or litter that is sufficiently moist.

Distribution

''Abies fraseri'' is restricted to the southeastern

in southwestern

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, western

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

and eastern

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, where it occurs at high elevations, from to the summit of

Mount Mitchell Mount Mitchell, known in Cherokee as Attakulla, is the highest peak of the Appalachian Mountains and the highest peak in mainland eastern North America. It is located near Burnsville in Yancey County, North Carolina in the Black Mountain subra ...

, the highest point in the region at . It lives in acidic moist but well-drained sandy loam, and is usually mixed with ''

'' (red spruce). Other trees it grows with include ''

Tsuga caroliniana ''Tsuga caroliniana'', the Carolina hemlock, is a species of hemlock endemic to the United States. Distribution and habitat Carolina hemlock is native to the Appalachian Mountains in southwest Virginia, western North Carolina, extreme northeas ...

'' (Carolina hemlock), ''

Betula alleghaniensis ''Betula alleghaniensis'', the yellow birch, golden birch, or swamp birch, is a large tree and an important lumber species of birch native to northeastern North America. Its vernacular names refer to the golden color of the tree's bark. In the pa ...

'' (yellow birch), ''

Betula papyrifera ''Betula papyrifera'' (paper birch, also known as (American) white birch and canoe birch) is a short-lived species of birch native to northern North America. Paper birch is named for the tree's thin white bark, which often peels in paper like ...

'' (paper birch), and ''

Acer saccharum ''Acer saccharum'', the sugar maple, is a species of flowering plant in the soapberry and lychee family Sapindaceae. It is native to the hardwood forests of eastern Canada and eastern United States. Sugar maple is best known for being the prima ...

'' (sugar maple). The climate is cool and moist, with short, cool summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall.

Pests

''Abies fraseri'' is severely damaged by a non-native insect, the

balsam woolly adelgid Balsam woolly adelgids (''Adelges piceae'') are small wingless insects that infest and kill firs, especially balsam fir and Fraser fir. They are an invasive species from Europe introduced to the United States around 1900. Because this species ...

(''Adelges piceae''). The insect's introduction and spread led to a rapid decline in Fraser fir across its range, with over 80 percent of mature trees having been killed. The rapid regeneration of seedlings with lack of canopy has led to good regrowth of healthy young trees where the mature forests once stood. However, when these young trees get old enough for the bark to develop fissures, they may be attacked and killed by the adelgids as well. For this reason, the future of the species is still uncertain, though the Mount Rogers (Virginia) population has largely evaded adelgid mortality. The decline of the Fraser fir in the southern Appalachians has contributed to loss of moss habitat which supports the spruce-fir moss spider. By the late 1990s, the adelgid population was down. While two-thirds of adult trees had been killed by the 1980s, a study of the

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Great Smoky Mountains National Park is an American national park in the southeastern United States, with parts in North Carolina and Tennessee. The park straddles the ridgeline of the Great Smoky Mountains, part of the Blue Ridge Mountains, whi ...

showed that as of 2020, the number of adult trees had increased over the previous 30 years, with three times as many on

Clingmans Dome Clingmans Dome (or Clingman's Dome) is a mountain in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina in the southeastern United States. Its name in Cherokee is Kuwahi or Kuwohi (ᎫᏩᎯ or ᎫᏬᎯ), meaning "mulberry place." At an to ...

Threats

The Fraser fir is an

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

. Threats include

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...

and

Cultivation and uses

Although not important as a source of timber, the combination of dense natural pyramidal form, strong limbs, soft long-retained needles, dark blue-green color, pleasant scent and excellent shipping characteristics, has led to Fraser fir being widely used as a

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 ...

. Fraser fir has been used more times as the

White House Christmas tree The White House Christmas Tree, also known as the Blue Room Christmas Tree, is the official indoor Christmas tree at the residence of the president of the United States, the White House. The first indoor Christmas tree was installed in the White ...

than any other tree. The Christmas decoration trade is a multimillion-dollar business in the southern

Appalachians The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, (french: Appalaches), are a system of mountains in eastern to northeastern North America. The Appalachians first formed roughly 480 million years ago during the Ordovician Period. They ...

. North Carolina produces the majority of Fraser fir Christmas trees."Fraser Fir"
North Carolina Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 24 November 2010. It requires from seven to ten years in the field to produce a tree. In 2005, the North Carolina General Assembly passed legislation making the Fraser fir the official Christmas tree of

. The Fraser fir is cultivated from seedlings in several northern states in the USA and across the border in adjacent parts of the Canadian province of Quebec, especially for the Christmas tree trade. It is also grown in

Bedgebury National Pinetum Bedgebury National Pinetum at Bedgebury, Kent, in the United Kingdom, is a recreational and conservational arboretum managed by Forestry England that was established as the National Conifer Collection in 1925 and is now recognised as the most ...

and other collections in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

References

External links

Flora of North America: ''Abies fraseri'' treatment
an
range map
��eFloras.org
Interactive Native Range Distribution Map: ''Abies fraseri''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1451343 Abies Endangered flora of the United States Endemic flora of the United States Flora of the Appalachian Mountains Natural history of the Great Smoky Mountains Taxa named by Frederick Traugott Pursh Trees of the Southeastern United States