Abies magnifica

Scientific name: Abies magnifica  A.Murray  1863

Synonyms:  Abies amabilis var. magnifica (A.Murray bis) Lavallée, Abies nobilis var. magnifica (A.Murray bis) Kellogg, Abies campylocarpaA.Murray bis, Picea magnifica (A.Murray bis) Gordon, Pinus campylocarpa (A.Murray bis) Voss, Pseudotsuga magnifica(A.Murray bis) W.R.McNab

Common names: California red fir, Silvertip fir, Red fir

Description

Tree to 50(-60) m tall, with trunk to 2.6 m in diameter. Bark grayish when young, soon becoming reddish brown and strongly ridged and furrowed. Branchlets with dense reddish hairs at first, grooved between the leaf bases. Buds 3-5 mm long, not resinous, sparsely hairy. Needles all pointing upward on the twig from an abruptly bent leaf base, 2-3.5 cm long, bluish or grayish green above, the tips rounded on lower branches to pointed on cone-bearing branches. Pollen cones 15-20 mm long, reddish brown. Seed cones elongate egg-shaped, (10-)14-20 cm long, (3-)7-10 cm across, purple when young, maturing yellowish brown. Seed body 12-15 mm long, the wing about as long.

Southeastern Oregon to northern Coast Ranges and southern Sierra Nevada of California. Forming pure stands or mixed with other conifers, including white fir (Abies concolor), incense cedar (Calocedrus decurrens), and giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum), in midelevation montane coniferous forest; 1,400-2,700(-2,900) m.

Conservation Status

Red List Category & Criteria: Least Concern

(Abies magnifica and its two varieties (var. magnifica and var. shastensis) are all assessed as Least Concern due to their large extent of occurrence, area of occupancy, large population sizes and absence of any overall decline)

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.

Rootstock: Abies cephalonica