Abies Alba

Description

Silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) is a large evergreen coniferous tree mainly distributed in montane areas in Central Europe, but is also present in Southern and Eastern Europe. It is a distinctive tree, straight-stemmed with a silver-grey trunk. Growth is very slow in early years, and then rapid as the tree matures. The uppermost part of young trees has a conical shape gradually changing to become a rounded dome as the tree grows older. The needles are dark green and glossy on their upper side while the lower side has two silvergreen waxy bands of 6-8 rows of stomata, and can live for up to six or eight years. Flowers only appear after 30 to 40 years, generally in April or May, and the buds are red-brown and non-resinous. The fully developed seeds are mainly dispersed by wind. With particularly cool and moist habitats this tree can live up to 500-600 years and reach heights above 60 m, making it among the tallest tree species of the genus Abies in Europe. This tree is also the most heavily browsed of the commercially important tree species in montane forests of central and southeastern Europe, which, together with climatic changes, has led to a decreased presence of this tree in forests.