Scientific name: Abies grandis (Douglas ex D. Don) Lindley 1833
Synonyms: Abies aromatica Raf., Abies excelsior Franco, Abies gordoniana Carriere, Abies grandis subsp. idahoensis (Silba) Silba, Abies grandis var. idahoensis Silba, Abies lasiocarpa Lindl. & Gordon, Abies occidentalis Cinovskis, Abies parsonii auct., Abies parsonsiana Mast., Picea grandis (Douglas ex D.Don) Loudon, Picea parsonsii Gordon, Pinus grandis Douglas ex D. Don
Common names: Grand fir, Giant fir, Lowland white fir, Great silver fir, Western white fir, Vancouver fir, Oregon fir, Stinking fir, Yellow fir
Description
Tree to 75(-90) m tall (hence the scientific and common names), with trunk to 1.5(-2) m in diameter. Bark grey when young, becoming brown and shallowly ridged and furrowed with age. Branchlets minutely hairy at first, not grooved. Buds 1.5-3 mm long, resinous. Needles predominantly arranged to the sides of the twigs on both upper and lower branches, (1-)2-5(-6) cm long, dark green above, the tips usually notched. Individual needles flat to slightly plump in cross section and with a small resin canal on either side near the edges just inside the lower epidermis, without stomates above and with five to seven rows of stomates in each white stomatal band beneath. Pollen cones 12-18 mm long, various colors from greenish through reddish tinges to purple. Seed cones more or less cylindrical, (5-)6-10(-12) cm long, 3-3.5(-4) cm across, various colors from dark green through gray to purple when young, maturing reddish brown. Bracts much shorter than the densely hairy seed scales and hidden by them. Persistent cone axis narrowly conical. Seed body 6-9 mm long, the wing about as long or a little longer. Cotyledons mostly five or six.
Northwestern United States and adjacent Canada from southern British Columbia to coastal northern California and central Idaho. Mixed conifer forests of Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis), Western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla), Western red cedar (Thuja plicata), and Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) on moist soils; 0-1,500(-1,850) m.
Conservation Status
Red List Category & Criteria: Least Concern
Abies grandis has a great extent of occurrence and occurs in numerous localities as a forest forming dominant or seral dominant. As a result it is assessed as Least Concern.
Grand fir has its optimum in lowland coastal areas of the Pacific Northwest, but occurs also in the Cascade Range and the northern Rocky Mountains, to the west of the Continental Divide. It grows from near sea level to ca. 1,850 m a.s.l., on a variety of soils derived from granitic or basaltic rock, best development is on alluvial soils with a relatively high ground water table. In the Pacific Northwest the climate is moist maritime to wet, with annual precipitation from as low as 500 mm to 2,500 mm, in the upland interior the winters are snowy and cold, the precipitation ranges from 500 mm to 1,250 mm. It grows in pure stands in some areas in Idaho, but is usually mixed with Pseudotsuga menziesii, Abies amabilis, Picea sitchensis, Calocedrus decurrens, Thuja plicata, Tsuga heterophylla or Larix occidentalis (in the interior). Broad-leaved associated trees are e.g. Acer macrophyllum, Alnus rubra (along streams), and Fraxinus latifolia, while the shrub layer is formed by Acer circinatum in coastal areas and Amelanchier alnifolia and Rosa spp. in the interior.
Although logged in the past and in the present in many parts of its range, under “uneven-aged management” this species regenerates well. Aside from “old growth issues” logging of Grand Fir is not a serious conservation concern at the species level.
Rapid growth and great size make this species an important timber tree. The wood is soft and white and an excellent source of pulpwood. For construction timber it is considered less desirable due to its relative weakness and limited durability. In the Pacific Northwest young trees are valued as Christmas trees because they tend to grow up very symmetrically and have lustrous green foliage. Grand Fir is commonly grown as an amenity tree in large gardens and city parks and, as another David Doulas introduction, it was planted in nearly all landscape gardens laid out in the nineteenth century in Europe, where some trees have now attained impressive sizes. In horticulture it is much in use and a substantial number of cultivars have been selected for garden planting.
This species forms an important part of the forest canopy in many protected areas within its large range.
Cultivars:
Abies grandis ’Aurea’
Abies grandis ’Aurifolia’
Abies grandis ’Aurora Twister’
Abies grandis ’Baby Grand’
Abies grandis ’Broom #2’
Abies grandis ’Burgsteinfurt’
Abies grandis ’By Home’
Abies grandis ’Cascade Falls’
Abies grandis ’Chevreloup’
Abies grandis ’Compacta’
Abies grandis ’Crassa’
Abies grandis ’Deliverance’
Abies grandis ’Dr. Johnsen’
Abies grandis ’Erik’s Petite’
Abies grandis ’Henksgarden WB’
Abies grandis ’Howell Prairie’”
Abies grandis ’Johnsonii’
Abies grandis ’Kootenai’
Abies grandis ’Leuteneggeri’
Abies grandis ’Libby’
Abies grandis ’Little Treasure’
Abies grandis ’Louňovice’
Abies grandis ’Meindersveen‘
Abies grandis ’Mlékosrby’
Abies grandis ’Mrs. Collier’s Pet Duck’
Abies grandis ’Nana’
Abies grandis ’Pendula’
Abies grandis ’Pinie Glen’
Abies grandis ’Pumila’
Abies grandis ’Real Grande’
Abies grandis ’Reggear’
Abies grandis ’Seely Lake’
Abies grandis ’Šimánek’
Abies grandis ’Steigerwald’
Abies grandis ’Steinfürt’
Abies grandis ’Tiny Treasure’
Abies grandis ’Tucson’
Abies grandis ’Van Dedem’s Dwarf’
Abies grandis ’Vanc’
Abies grandis ’Vonderhorst’
Abies grandis ’W. C. Gaffney’
Abies grandis ’Zaaling Zwerg’
Abies grandis ’Zwergform’
References
- Farjon, A. (2010). A Handbook of the World's Conifers. Koninklijke Brill, Leiden.
- Eckenwalder, J.E. (2009) Conifers of the World: The Complete Reference. Timber Press, Portland.
- IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Cambridge, UK /Gland, Switzerland
Copyright © Aljos Farjon, James E. Eckenwalder, IUCN, Conifers Garden. All rights reserved.
