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Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas - Radford, Ahles, Bell 4.
Copyright - UNC Press 1998, 1999. All Rights Reserved.



ABIES Miller FIR, BALSAM


1. A. fraseri (Pursh) Poiret,* FRASER'S F., SHE B. Small to medium tree; bark nearly smooth, with blisters, containing an oleoresin ("Balsam"), somewhat scaly on trunks. Leaves flat, linear, curved, 1-2 cm long, generally notched at the end, shiny, green above, glaucous below, fragrant, on falling leaving a scar on the twig. Male cones less than 1 cm long, male sporangia opening transversely, shedding pollen May-June; pollen winged. Female cones 4-5.5 cm long, upright, bracts longer than the sporophylls and reflexed downward, often toothed or lacerated, pointed at the tip, shedding seeds Sept.-Nov., the sporophylls and bracts falling with the seeds, and leaving a slender, upright cone axis. Boreal forests and balds; high mts. of N.C., generally above 1,500 m. [Va., Ga.,Tenn.].
[ Specimen Image ]