Flora of North America species comparison

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Abies procera

Abies lasiocarpa

noble fir

alpine fir, Rocky Mountain fir, sapin concolore, subalpine fir
Habit Trees to 80m; trunk to 2.2m diam.; crown spirelike. Trees to 20m; trunk to 0.8m diam.; crown spirelike.
Bark

grayish brown, in age becoming thick and deeply furrowed (furrows and ridges about same width) and reddish brown (especially reddish when plates flake off).

gray, thin, smooth, furrowed in age.
Branches

diverging from trunk at right angles, stiff;

twigs reddish brown, finely pubescent for several years.

stiff, straight;

twigs opposite to whorled, greenish gray to light brown, bark splitting as early as 2 years to reveal red-brown layer, somewhat pubescent;

fresh leaf scars with red periderm.
Buds

hidden by leaves, tan, ovoid, small, not resinous, apex rounded;

basal scales short, broad, equilaterally triangular, pubescent centrally, not resinous, margins entire to crenate, apex sharp-pointed.

hidden by leaves or exposed, tan to dark brown, nearly globose, small, resinous, apex rounded;

basal scales short, broad, equilaterally triangular, glabrous or with a few trichomes at base, not resinous, margins crenate to dentate, apex sharp-pointed.
Leaves

1–3(–3.5)cm × 1.5–2mm, 1-ranked, flexible, proximal portion often appressed to twig for 2–3mm (best seen on abaxial surface of twig), distal portion divergent;

cross section flat, with prominent raised midrib abaxially, with or without groove adaxially, or cross section 4-sided on fertile branches;

odor pungent, faintly turpentinelike;

abaxial surface with 2–4 glaucous bands, each band with (4–)6–7 stomatal rows;

adaxial surface bluish green, with 0–2 glaucous bands, each band with 0–7 stomatal rows at midleaf;

apex rounded to notched;

leaves on fertile branches 4-sided with 4 bands of stomates below;

resin canals small, near margins and abaxial epidermal layer.

1.8–3.1cm × 1.5–2mm, spiraled, turned upward, flexible;

cross section flat, prominently grooved adaxially;

odor sharp (ß-phellandrene);

abaxial surface with 4–5 stomatal rows on each side of midrib;

adaxial surface bluish green, very glaucous, with 4–6 stomatal rows at midleaf, rows usually continuous to leaf base;

apex prominently or weakly notched to rounded;

resin canals large, ± median, away from margins and midway between abaxial and adaxial epidermal layers.
Pollen cones

at pollination ± purple, ± red, or reddish brown.

at pollination ± purple to purplish green.
Seed(s)

cones oblong-cylindric, 10–15 × 5–6.5cm, green, red, or purple, overlaid with green bracts, at maturity brown (bracts light-colored and scales dark), sessile, apex rounded;

scales ca. 2.5 × 3cm, pubescent;

bracts exserted and reflexed over scales.

cones cylindric, 6–12 × 2–4cm, dark purple, sessile, apex rounded;

scales ca. 1.5 × 1.7cm, densely pubescent;

bracts included (specimens with exserted, reflexed bracts are insect infested).
2n

=24.

=24.

Abies procera

Abies lasiocarpa
Habitat Mixed coniferous forests Coastal, subalpine coniferous forests
Elevation 60–2700m (200–8900ft) 1100–2300 m (3600–7500 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; OR; WA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AK; CA; OR; WA; BC; YT
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

See discussion under Abies magnifica.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

The only unique populations in this species come from coastal Alaska (A. S. Harris 1965; C. J. Heusser 1954). They are found at lower elevations (0–900 m) and appear to be isolated with no reported introgression between them and the coastal mountain populations. The population on the Prince of Wales Island has distinct terpene patterns and needs morphological and developmental studies to see if these patterns contrast with neighboring populations.

Through central British Columbia and northern Washington, Abies lasiocarpa introgresses with A. bifolia. These trees may have morphologic features resembling either species and may have intermediate terpene patterns; they are best classified as interior subalpine fir (A. bifolia × lasiocarpa). At the southern end of its range, A. lasiocarpa possibly hybridizes with A. procera (R.S. Hunt and E.von Rudloff 1979). Abies lasiocarpa shares with A. procera a red periderm, crystals in the ray parenchyma (R.W. Kennedy et al. 1968), and reflexed tips of the bracts, features not shared with A. bifolia.

Abies lasiocarpa usually exists in small stands at high elevations and is not often observed. Its differences in comparison to A. bifolia have prompted studies (W.H. Parker et al. 1979) to see if it is A. bifolia introgressed with the sympatric A. amabilis. Abies lasiocarpa and A. amabilis, however, are separated by many morphologic features, and no hybrids have been found (W.H. Parker et al. 1979).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 2. FNA vol. 2.
Parent taxa Pinaceae > Abies Pinaceae > Abies
Sibling taxa
A. amabilis, A. balsamea, A. bifolia, A. bracteata, A. concolor, A. fraseri, A. grandis, A. lasiocarpa, A. lowiana, A. magnifica
A. amabilis, A. balsamea, A. bifolia, A. bracteata, A. concolor, A. fraseri, A. grandis, A. lowiana, A. magnifica, A. procera
Synonyms A. nobilis Pinus lasiocarpa
Name authority Rehder: Rhodora 42: 522. (1940) (Hooker) Nuttall: N. Amer. Sylv. 3: 138. (1849)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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