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{{SPlantbox
| name = ''Abies concolor''
|familia=Pinaceae
| common_names = White Fir
|genus=Abies
| growth_habit = tree
|species=concolor
| high = <!--- 1m (3 ft) -->
|common_name=White fir
| wide = <!--- 65cm (25 inches) -->
|habit=tree
|lifespan=perennial
|exposure=sun, part-sun, shade
| lifespan = perennial
|water=moist
| exposure = <!--- full sun, part-sun, semi-shade, shade, indoors, bright filtered (you may list more than 1) -->
|Temp Metric=°F
| water = <!--- frequent, regular, moderate, drought tolerant, let dry then soak -->
|sunset_zones=1-9, 14-24, 34-37, 39, 41
|image=White fir MN 2007.JPG
|image_width=180
| usda_zones = <!--- eg. 8-11 -->
| sunset_zones = 1-9, 14-24, 34-37, 39, 41
| image = Upload.png <!--- Freesia.jpg -->
| image_width = 240px <!--- leave as 240px if horizontal orientation photo, or change to 180px if vertical -->
}}
}}
Native to mountains of the West and Southwest, but can do well in Northwest and humid-summer parts of North and Northeast. Also does well in lower Midwest and in some lower-elevation parts of interior West. Reaches 50-70 feet in gardens. Bluish-green needles which are 1-2 inches long.
Native to mountains of the West and Southwest, but can do well in Northwest and humid-summer parts of North and Northeast. Also does well in lower Midwest and in some lower-elevation parts of interior West. Reaches 50-70 feet in gardens. Bluish-green needles which are 1-2 inches long.
The [[leaf|leaves]] are needle-like, flattened, 2.5-6 cm long and 2 mm wide by 0.5-1 mm thick, green to glaucous blue-green above, and with two glaucous blue-white bands of [[stomata]] below, and slightly notched to bluntly pointed at the tip. The leaf arrangement is spiral on the shoot, but with each leaf variably twisted at the base so they all lie in either two more-or-less flat ranks on either side of the shoot, or upswept across the top of the shoot but not below the shoot. The [[conifer cone|cones]] are 6-12 cm long and 4-4.5 cm broad, green or purple ripening pale brown, with about 100-150 scales; the scale bracts are short, and hidden in the closed cone. The winged [[seed]]s are released when the cones disintegrate at maturity about 6 months after pollination.
{{Inc|
{{Inc|
A. concolor, Lindl. & Gord. (A. Lowidna, A. Murr. A. Parsonsiana, Hort., the Pacific form). White Fir. Fig. 61. Tree, 100-250 ft.: trunk 4-6 ft. in diam.: leaves elongated, stomatiferous on the upper surface, on fertile branches often falcate and thickened and keeled above: cones, oblong, gray-green, dark purple or bright canary-yellow, 3-5 in. long; bracts shorter than their scales. W. N. Amer. from S. Ore. to Low. Calif. and to Utah, S. Colo., New Mex., Ariz, and Sonora. —Of all fir trees, the Colorado form best withstands heat and drought; very hardy, grows rapidly, and the most desirable of the genus in the eastern states. The form from the Pacific coast is less hardy and less desirable in the E. as an ornamental tree. Seedlings of the Colorado form, with rather longer and more glaucous leaves, are found in nurseries as A. concolor violacea. }}
A. concolor, Lindl. & Gord. (A. Lowidna, A. Murr. A. Parsonsiana, Hort., the Pacific form). White Fir. Tree, 100-250 ft.: trunk 4-6 ft. in diam.: leaves elongated, stomatiferous on the upper surface, on fertile branches often falcate and thickened and keeled above: cones, oblong, gray-green, dark purple or bright canary-yellow, 3-5 in. long; bracts shorter than their scales. W. N. Amer. from S. Ore. to Low. Calif. and to Utah, S. Colo., New Mex., Ariz, and Sonora. —Of all fir trees, the Colorado form best withstands heat and drought; very hardy, grows rapidly, and the most desirable of the genus in the eastern states. The form from the Pacific coast is less hardy and less desirable in the E. as an ornamental tree. Seedlings of the Colorado form, with rather longer and more glaucous leaves, are found in nurseries as A. concolor violacea. }}
:''More information about this species can be found on the [[Abies|genus page]].''
:''More information about this species can be found on the [[Abies|genus page]].''
==Cultivation==
==Cultivation==
{{edit-cult}}<!--- Type cultivation info below this line, then delete this entire line -->
{{edit-cult}}<!--- Type cultivation info below this line, then delete this entire line -->
*Var. falcata. Lvs. sickle-shaped, curved upward. {{SCH}}
*Var. falcata. Lvs. sickle-shaped, curved upward. {{SCH}}
*Var. globosa. Plant spherical, with symmetrical small branches.{{SCH}}
*Var. globosa. Plant spherical, with symmetrical small branches.{{SCH}}
[[Image:Abies concolor cones.jpg|thumb|left|Foliage and cones of subsp. ''concolor'']]
As treated here, there are two [[subspecies]]; these are also variously treated at either the lower rank of [[variety (biology)|variety]] by some authors, or as distinct [[species]] by others:
* ''Abies concolor'' subsp. ''concolor''. '''Colorado White Fir''' or '''Rocky Mountains White Fir'''. In the [[United States]], at altitudes of 1700-3400 m in the [[Rocky Mountains]] from southern [[Idaho]] south through [[Utah]] and [[Colorado]] to [[New Mexico]] and [[Arizona]], and on the higher [[Great Basin]] mountains of [[Nevada]] and extreme southeastern [[California]], and a short distance into northern [[Sonora]], [[Mexico]]. A smaller tree to 25-35 m tall, rarely 45 m. Foliage strongly upcurved to erect on all except weak shaded shoots in the lower crown; leaves mostly 3.5-6 cm, and strongly glaucous on the upper side with numerous stomata. Tolerates winter [[temperature]]s down to about -40°C.
* ''Abies concolor'' subsp. ''lowiana'' ([[syn.]] ''A. lowiana''). '''Low's White Fir''' or '''Sierra Nevada White Fir'''. In the [[United States]], at altitudes of 900-2700 m from the [[Cascades]] of central [[Oregon]] south through [[California]] ([[Klamath Mountains]], [[Sierra Nevada (U.S.)|Sierra Nevada]]) to northern [[Baja California]], [[Mexico]]. A larger tree to 40-60 m tall. Foliage flattened on lower crown shoots, the leaves often raised above the shoot on upper crown shoots but not often strongly upcurved; leaves mostly 2.5-5 cm, and only weakly glaucous on the upper side with few or no stomata. Tolerates winter temperatures down to about -30°C.
White Fir is very closely related to [[Grand Fir]] (''Abies grandis''), with subspecies ''lowiana'' being particularly similar to the interior variety of Grand Fir ''A. grandis'' var. ''idahoensis'', intergrading with it where they meet in the Cascades of central Oregon. To the south in Mexico, it is replaced by further close relatives, [[Durango Fir]] (''A. durangensis'') and [[Mexican Fir]] (''A. mexicana'').
White fir, being shade tolerant, is a [[climax species]] in forest succession in the [[Sierra Nevada (U.S.)|Sierra Nevada]], and in the presence of modern human controls against forest fires, it has flourished over the past two centuries. It is sometimes regarded as a pest by those in the lumber industry, as it drives out trees of greater stature (such as the [[sugar pine]] and [[incense cedar]]), has weaker, knottier wood than its competitors, and retains its lower limbs. This latter trait creates a fire ladder that allows flames to reach up to the canopy, thinning out [[giant sequoia]] stands that would escape smaller forest fires with minimal damage.<ref>[http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/science/hartesveldt/chap6.htm The Giant Sequoia of the Sierra Nevada]</ref>
==Gallery==
==Gallery==
<gallery>
<gallery>
Image:Upload.png| photo 1
Image:Abies_concolor_8076.jpg|''A. concolor'' subsp. ''lowiana'' foliage upperside
Image:Upload.png| photo 2
Image:Abies_concolor_8065.jpg|''A. concolor'' subsp. ''lowiana'' foliage underside
Image:Upload.png| photo 3
Image:Baby whitefir.jpg|A young sapling of subsp. ''lowiana'' on [[Mount Whitney]]
Image:White fir MN 2007.JPG|White fir in garden environment at [[Minnesota Landscape Arboretum]]
</gallery>
</gallery>
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