Red Fir

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The Red Fir (Abies magnifica) is a western North American fir, native to the mountains of southwest Oregon and California in the United States. It is a large evergreen tree typically up to 40-60 m tall and 2 m trunk diameter, rarely to 76 m tall and 3 m diameter, with a narrow conic crown. The bark on young trees is smooth, grey, and with resin blisters, becoming orange-red, rough and fissured on old trees. The leaves are needle-like, 2-3.5 cm long, glaucous blue-green above and below with strong stomatal bands, and an acute tip. They are arranged spirally on the shoot, but twisted slightly s-shaped to be upcurved above the shoot. The cones are erect, 9-21 cm long, yellow-green (occasionally purple), ripening brown and disintegrating to release the winged seeds in fall.

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It is a high altitude tree, typically occurring at 1,400-2,700 m altitude, though only rarely reaching tree-line. The name Red Fir derives from the bark color of old trees.

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There are two, perhaps three varieties:

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• Abies magnifica var. magnifica (Red Fir) - cones large (14-21 cm), cone bract scales short, not visible on the closed cones. Most of the species' range, primarily in the Sierra Nevada.
• Abies magnifica var. shastensis (Shasta Red Fir) - cones large (14-21 cm), cone bract scales longer, visible on the closed cone. The northwest of the species' range, in southwest Oregon and Shasta, Siskiyou and Trinity Counties in northwest California.
• Trees on the eastern side of the southern Sierra Nevada also have long bracts, and additionally have smaller cones, 9-15 cm long. These trees, possibly a third variety, have not been formally named.

Red Fir is very closely related to Noble Fir (Abies procera), which replaces it further north in the Cascade Range. They are best distinguished by the leaves; Noble Fir leaves have a groove along the midrib on the upper side, while 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. Some botanists treat Abies magnifica var. shastensis as a natural hybrid between Red Fir and Noble Fir.

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Red Fir: Uses ►



 

North America: North America is a continent in the northern hemisphere, bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the south by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific Ocean. It covers an area of 9,355,000 square miles (24,230,000 square kilometers). In 2...

Fir: FIR may stand for:...

Mountain: A mountain is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain in a limited area. A mountain is generally much higher and steeper than a hill, but there is considerable overlap, and usage often depends on local custom. Some authorities define a mountain as a peak with a topographic prominence ...




Red Fir related Images and Photos (experimental)

Red	Red	Red	Imagine (Red)
Red I	Red M&M	Red II	Red II
Red III	Red Fox	Red Eye	Red Sky