Abies pinsapo var. tazaotana

Scientific name: Abies pinsapo var. tazaotana  (Côzar ex Villar) H.del Vill., Pourt & Trump  1954

Synonyms: Abies pinsapo subsp. tazaotana (Côzar ex Villar) Govaerts

Common names:Tazaotan fir, Sapin de Tazaot (French)

Description

Tree to 20-30 m tall, with trunk to 0.8(-1.5) m in diameter. Bark grayish brown, becoming deeply ridged and furrowed with age. Branchlets hairless, often shiny, grooved between the leaf bases. Bud scales loose, smooth-edged, nonresinous. Needles crowded above the twigs, with shallow resin canals and one or two inconspicuous lines of stomates above, (0.6-)1-2(2.5) cm long, shiny green above, the tip sharp to blunt, rounded, or even slightly notched. Pollen cones 5-7(-15) mm long, reddish purple. Seed cones cylindrical, (9-)12-18(-25) cm long, 3.5-5(-6) cm across, greenish, yellowish, or reddish brown when young, maturing yellowish to purplish brown. Seed body 7-10 mm long, the wing up to 1.5 times as long.

Tazaot mountain, northern Morocco; 1,400-1,800 m.    

Conservation Status

Red List Category & Criteria: Endangered

(Abies pinsapo var. tazaotana currently has a very limited distribution and is threatened by fires, forest clearance and habitat degradation. This species is therefore listed as Endangered)

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