Abies magnifica

{{Speciesbox

| image = Red fir forest Giant Sequoia National Monument.jpg

| image_caption = Red fir forest, Giant Sequoia National Monument

| status = LC

| status_system = IUCN3.1

| status_ref = {{cite iucn |author=Farjon, A. |date=2013 |title=Abies magnifica |volume=2013 |page=e.T42290A2970154 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T42290A2970154.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}

| genus = Abies

| parent = Abies sect. Nobilis

| species = magnifica

| authority = A.Murray bis

| range_map = Abies magnifica range map 4.png

| range_map_caption = Natural range of Abies magnifica

}}

Abies magnifica, the red fir or silvertip fir, is a western North American fir, native to the mountains of southwest Oregon and California in the United States. It is a high-elevation tree, typically occurring at {{convert|1400|-|2700|m|ft}} elevation, though only rarely reaching tree line. The name red fir derives from the bark color of old trees.

Description

Abies magnifica is a large evergreen tree typically up to {{convert|40|-|60|m|ft}} tall and {{convert|2|m|ftin|abbr=on}} trunk diameter, rarely to {{convert|76.5|m|ft|abbr=on}} tall and {{convert|3|m|ftin|abbr=on}} diameter, with a narrow conic crown. The bark on young trees is smooth, grey, and has resin blisters, becoming orange-red, rough and fissured on old trees. The leaves are needle-like, {{Convert|2–3.5|cm|frac=4}} 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, {{Convert|9–21|cm|abbr=on|frac=4}} long, yellow-green (occasionally purple), ripening brown and disintegrating to release the winged seeds in fall.

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| File:Abies magnifica cones Lassen.jpg

Image:Abies magnifica 8009.jpg

=Varieties=

There are three varieties:{{cite web | title=Abies magnifica A.Murray bis | website=Plants of the World Online | date=2012-08-01 | url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:325664-2#children | access-date=2024-08-18}}

Image	Scientific name	Description	Distribution
class="wikitable"
120px	Abies magnifica var. magnifica, red fir	cones {{Convert\|14–21\|cm\|abbr=on\|frac=4}} long, bract scales short, not visible on the closed cones.	Range, primarily in the Sierra Nevada.
120px	Abies magnifica var. shastensis {{au\|Lemmon}}, Shasta red fir	cones {{Convert\|14–21\|cm\|abbr=on\|frac=4}} long, bract scales longer, visible on the closed cone; bark {{Convert\|10-15\|cm\|abbr=on\|frac=4}} thick.	The northwest of the species' range, in southwest Oregon and Shasta, Siskiyou{{Cite book \|last1=Arno \|first1=Stephen F. \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qDD4DwAAQBAJ \|title=Northwest Trees: Identifying & Understanding the Region's Native Trees \|last2=Hammerly \|first2=Ramona P. \|publisher=Mountaineers Books \|year=2020 \|isbn=978-1-68051-329-5 \|edition=field guide \|location=Seattle \|pages=143–149 \|language=en \|oclc=1141235469 \|orig-date=1977}} and Trinity Counties in northwest California.
	Abies magnifica var. critchfieldii {{au\|Lanner}}	Also having long bracts, and additionally have smaller cones, {{Convert\|9–15\|cm\|abbr=on\|frac=4}} long.	the eastern slopes of southern Sierra Nevada

=Related=

Red fir is very closely related to Abies procera (noble fir), 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. Shasta red fir hybridizes with noble fir, with which it is both chemically and microscopically similar; some botanists treat the former as a natural hybrid between red and noble fir.

First recording

This tree was first recorded by William Lobb on his expedition to California of 1849–1853, having been overlooked previously by David Douglas.{{cite book | author= Toby Musgrave | author2= Chris Gardner | author3= Will Musgrave | name-list-style= amp | title=The Plant Hunters| publisher=Seven Dials | year=1999|page=147| isbn=1-84188-001-9}}

Uses

The wood is used for general structural purposes and paper manufacture. It is also a popular Christmas tree.

Paiute peoples used the foliage of Shasta red fir (or perhaps noble fir) to treat coughs and colds.

References

External links

[https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/tree/abimag/all.html USDA Forest Service: Abies magnifica]
[https://www.calflora.org/app/taxon?crn=7 CalFlora Database: Abies magnifica]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20051001100024/http://www.conifers.org/pi/ab/magnifica.htm Gymnosperm Database – Abies magnifica]
[http://www.pinetum.org/PhotoJEFFshastensis.htm Arboretum de Villardebelle: Abies magnifica Photos – group 1]
[http://www.pinetum.org/PhotoJEFFshastensis2.htm Arboretum de Villardebelle: Abies magnifica Photos – group 2]