| Balsam Fir | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Tree with cones
|
||||||||||||||
| Conservation status | ||||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||
| Binomial name | ||||||||||||||
| Abies balsamea (L.) Mill. |
||||||||||||||
 Range
|
The Balsam Fir (Abies balsamea) is a North American fir, native to most of eastern and central Canada (Newfoundland west to central Alberta) and the northeastern United States (Minnesota east to Maine, and south in the Appalachian Mountains to West Virginia). Carl Linnaeus (Latinized as Carolus Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as, May 23 new style (13 May old style 1707 who laid the foundations for Philip Miller ( 1691 - 18 December 1771) was a botanist of Scottish descent Firs ( Abies) are a genus of between 45-55 species of Evergreen conifers in the family Pinaceae. Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page Newfoundland — ˈn(jufənˌlænd (Terre-Neuve Talamh an Éisc — is a large island 15 km off the east coast of Alberta (ælˈbɝtə is one of Canada's prairie provinces. It became a province on September 1 1905 The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Minnesota ( Native Americans demonstrated the name to early settlers The State of Maine ( is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean The Appalachian Mountains ( often called the Appalachians, are a vast system of mountains in eastern North America. West Virginia ( is a state in the Appalachian Upland South, and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States, bordered by [1]
It is a small to medium-size evergreen tree typically 14-20 m tall, rarely to 27 m tall, with a narrow conic crown. In Botany, an Evergreen plant is a plant having leaves all year round A tree is a perennial Woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or The bark on young trees is smooth, grey, and with resin blisters (which tend to spray when ruptured), becoming rough and fissured or scaly on old trees. Bark, also known as periderm is the outermost layer of stems and Roots of Woody plants such as Trees It overlays the Wood and consists Resin, not to be confused with Rosin, is a Hydrocarbon Secretion of many Plants particularly coniferous trees. The leaves are flat needle-like, 1. In Botany, a leaf is an above-ground Plant organ specialized for Photosynthesis. 5-3 cm long, dark green above often with a small patch of stomata near the tip, and two white stomatal bands below, and a slightly notched tip. In Botany, a stoma (also stomate; plural stomata) is a tiny opening or pore found mostly on the underside of a Plant Leaf They are arranged spirally on the shoot, but with the leaf bases twisted to appear in two more-or-less horizontal rows. The cones are erect, 4-8 cm long, dark purple, ripening brown and disintegrating to release the winged seeds in September. A cone (in formal botanical usage Strobilus, plural strobili is an organ on Plants in the division Pinophyta ( Conifers A seed (in some plants referred to as a kernel) is a small embryonic Plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat usually with some stored
There are two varieties:
- Abies balsamea var. balsamea (Balsam Fir) - bract scales short, not visible on the closed cones. Most of the species' range.
- Abies balsamea var. phanerolepis (Bracted Balsam Fir or Canaan Fir) - bract scales longer, visible on the closed cone. The southeast of the species' range, from southernmost Quebec to West Virginia. Quebec (kwɨˈbɛk West Virginia ( is a state in the Appalachian Upland South, and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States, bordered by The name 'Canaan Fir' derives from one of its native localities, the Canaan Valley in West Virginia. Canaan Valley, is an oval shaped bowl-like valley in northeastern Tucker County West Virginia, USA containing extensive Wetlands and the headwaters of the Some botanists regard this variety as a natural hybrid between Balsam Fir and Fraser Fir (Abies fraseri), which occurs further south in the Appalachian Mountains. Abies fraseri ( Fraser Fir) is a species of Fir native to the mountains of the eastern United States.
Ecology
On exposed ridges and mountain tops, stands of balsam fir occasionally develop fir waves. A fir wave is a set of alternating bands of Fir Trees in sequential stages of development observed in Forests on exposed Mountain slopes Often found in association with black spruce, white spruce and trembling aspen. Picea mariana ( Black Spruce) is a species of Spruce native to northern North America, from Newfoundland west to Alaska Picea glauca ( White Spruce) is a species of Spruce native to the north of North America, from central Alaska east to Newfoundland Aspens are Trees of the willow family and comprise a section of the Poplar genus Populus sect .
This tree provides food for moose, American red squirrels, crossbills and chickadees, as well as shelter for moose, snowshoe hares, white-tailed deer, ruffed grouse and other small mammals and songbirds. The American Red Squirrel ( Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) is one of two species of tree squirrel currently classified in the genus Tamiasciurus and The crossbills are birds in the Finch family Fringillidae. The three to five (or possibly many more species are all classified in the genus Loxia The tits, chickadees, and titmice comprise Paridae, a large family of small Passerine Birds which occur in the Northern hemisphere The Snowshoe Hare ( Lepus americanus) also called the Varying Hare, is a species of Hare found in North America. The White-tailed deer ( Odocoileus virginianus) also known as the Virginia deer, or simply as the whitetail, is a medium-sized Deer found throughout The Ruffed Grouse, Bonasa umbellus, is a medium-sized Grouse occurring in forests from the Appalachian Mountains across Canada The needles are eaten by some lepidopteran caterpillars, for example the Io moth (Automeris io). Lepidoptera is an order of Insect that includes Moths and butterflies. The io moth ( Automeris io) is a very colorful North American Moth in the Saturniidae family
Uses
The resin is used to produce Canada balsam, and was traditionally used as a cold remedy and as a glue for glass and optical instrument components. Resin, not to be confused with Rosin, is a Hydrocarbon Secretion of many Plants particularly coniferous trees. Canada balsam, also called Canada turpentine or balsam of fir, is a Turpentine which is made from the Resin of the balsam fir tree Acute viral nasopharyngitis or acute coryza, usually known as the common cold, is a highly contagious viral Infectious disease of the The wood is used for paper manufacture and is also a popular Christmas tree
Balsam Fir is the Provincial tree of New Brunswick. Wood is hard fibrous lignified structural tissue produced as secondary Xylem in the stems of Woody plants notably trees but also shrubs Paper is thin material mainly used for writing upon printing upon or packaging A Christmas tree, Yule tree, holiday tree or Tannenbaum (fir tree is one of the most popular Traditions associated with the celebration Symbols of Canada's provinces and territories New Brunswick ( French: Nouveau-Brunswick /nuvobʁɔnzwik/ is one of Canada 's three Maritime provinces and is the only constitutionally
References
- ^ PLANTS Profile for Abies balsamea (balsam fir). Retrieved on 2007-07-17. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 180 - Twelve inhabitants of Scillium in North Africa are executed for being Christians
- Conifer Specialist Group (1998). Abies balsamea. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data List) created in 1963 is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 12 May 2006.
- Gymnosperm Database: Abies balsamea
- Flora of North America
- Karen Legasy, Shayna LaBelle-Beadman & Brenda Chambers. Forest Plants of Northeastern Ontario. Lone Pine Publishing / Queen's Printer for Ontario, 1995.
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic