Fraser Fir

(Abies fraseri)

Color Photograph: U.S. Forest Service

Fraser Fir (Abies fraseri)

Identifying Characters: This is the only species of fir found in, and restricted to, the Appalachian Mountains of the eastern United States.

Similar Species: The eastern (but more northern) Balsam Fir does not have the brachts projecting beyond the scales of the cone.

Measurements: Mature trees 50 to 80 feet tall and about 1 foot in diameter.

Cones:  Purple, 1.5 to 2.5 inches long; brachts longer than cone scales and projecting beyond the scale lips; brachts broad with a thin central projection.

Needles: Needles flat, arranged in two rows from the outer margins of the twig, green above with two white bands below.

Native Range: Fraser fir has a disjunct distribution, restricted to high elevations in the southern Appalachian Mountains of southwestern Virginia, western North Carolina, and eastern Tennessee. (Silvics of North America. 1990. Agriculture Handbook 654.)

Habitat: This species occurs in the higher elevations of the Appalachian Mountains in cool and damp habitats.