young shoot icon Home All plants About

Abies alba Mill.

Silver fir (en), Sapin pectiné (fr), Vesce des buissons (fr), Tremblarète (fr)

Species

Gymnosperms > Pinales > Pinaceae > Abies

Characteristics

A large evergreen conifer tree. It grows 45 n tall and spreads 20 m wide. The bark is dull grey and smooth in young trees. This becomes cracked into square plates in old trees. The needles are glossy and dark green. They are 2.5 cm long. These have 2 silvery bands underneath. The cones are large and cylinder shaped. They are 15 cm long.
Life form perennial
Growth form tree
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention evergreen
Sexuality monoecy
Pollination anemogamy
Spread anemochory
Mature width (meter) 4.0 - 8.0
Mature height (meter) 45.0
Root system tap-root
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) 1.2
Flower color
Blooming months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Fruit color
Fruiting months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway c3

Environment

It is a temperate plant. It grows in cool temperate places. It is frost resistant. It suits high rainfall areas.
More
Forests in mountains, at elevations from 1,000-1,600 metres.
Light 4-8
Soil humidity 4-7
Soil texture 1-5
Soil acidity 3-6
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 4-7

Usage

It is the source of a honey-dew honey. This is regarded as a tonic. The inner bark was made into a cake like bread. The young shoots are covered with sugar and eaten as a children's snack. The buds and young cones were used to distill brandy and to make drinks.
Uses dye essential oil material medicinal paper shelter timber wood
Edible barks flowers shoots
Therapeutic use Asthma (leaf), Common cold (leaf), Cough (leaf), Asthma (unspecified), Catarrh (unspecified), Cough (unspecified), Antiseptic (unspecified), Cold (unspecified), Bronchitis (unspecified), Bruise (unspecified), Calculus (unspecified), Diuretic (unspecified), Expectorant (unspecified), Gonorrhea (unspecified), Gravel (unspecified), Internulcer (unspecified), Laxative (unspecified), Leucorrhea (unspecified), Liniment (unspecified), Lung (unspecified), Resolvent (unspecified), Rubefacient (unspecified), Sore (unspecified), Tubercle (unspecified), Vulnerary (unspecified), Wound (unspecified), Homeopathy (unspecified)
Human toxicity allergenic, skin-irritating (aerial)
Animal toxicity weak toxic (aerial)

Cultivation

Plants are grown from seed.
Mode graftings seedlings
Germination duration (days) 21 - 30
Germination temperacture (C°) 20 - 23
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -35
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Habit

Abies alba habit picture by Patrick Guillard (cc-by-sa)
Abies alba habit picture by blaskovits viktoria (cc-by-sa)
Abies alba habit picture by Jean-Marie Frenoux (cc-by-sa)

Leaf

Abies alba leaf picture by fernandez saro juan manuel (cc-by-sa)
Abies alba leaf picture by Eric Jamain (cc-by-sa)
Abies alba leaf picture by georges pletinckx (cc-by-sa)

Flower

Abies alba flower picture by Margarethe Hecker (cc-by-sa)
Abies alba flower picture by Fem Alpina (cc-by-sa)
Abies alba flower picture by Jordanov Darko (cc-by-sa)

Fruit

Abies alba fruit picture by TamaraMaria (cc-by-sa)
Abies alba fruit picture by Liliane Goyat (cc-by-sa)
Abies alba fruit picture by Alin (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Abies alba world distribution map, present in United States of America

Conservation status

Abies alba threat status: Least Concern

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:60468511-2
WFO ID wfo-0000510976
COL ID 8K9Y
BDTFX ID 1
INPN ID 79313
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Abies vulgaris Abies alba f. pyramidalis Pinus heterophylla Pinus pectinata Picea metensis Pinus abies Abies argentea Abies baldensis Abies candicans Abies chlorocarpa Abies excelsa Abies nobilis Abies pardei Abies taxifolia Abies tenuirifolia Peuce abies Pinus lucida Pinus picea Pinus baldensis Picea pectinata Picea tenuifolia Picea pyramidalis Picea rinzi Abies alba Abies miniata Abies metensis Abies minor Abies pectinata Abies picea Abies taxifolia Picea excelsa Abies alba f. columnaris Abies taxifolia Picea kukunaria Abies duplex Abies pectinata f. pendula Abies alba f. pendula Abies alba subsp. pardei Abies alba subsp. apennina Abies alba var. brevifolia Abies alba var. pardei Pinus abies var. pectinata Abies alba var. podolica Abies pectinata var. pendula Abies pectinata var. pendula-gracilis Abies alba var. compacta Picea pectinata var. pendula Abies pectinata var. pyramidalis Abies pectinata var. columnaris Abies alba var. columnaris Abies alba var. glauca Abies alba f. compacta Pinus picea f. pendula Pinus picea f. pyramidalis Abies abies
WorldFloraDB 2024