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Silver fir (Abies alba)
Photo: Crusier, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

On the map in 2 countries tree

Silver fir

Abies alba

Family: Pinaceae

On our map this plant appears in 2 countries and ranks highest in: Germany, Bosnia & Herzegovina.

The silver fir is a stately conifer growing to 50 m, with silvery-grey bark and flat needles marked underneath with two white stripes. Its cones stand upright on the branches and break apart on the tree, so they are rarely found on the ground. It tolerates shade well and forms mixed forests with beech and spruce in mountains with a humid climate. Its deep root system protects slopes from erosion and windthrow, which is why foresters are increasingly reintroducing it in place of spruce monocultures.

Description from: Germany.

More: Wikipedia (en) Wikipedia (pl) Plants of the World Online (Kew)

Significance in each country

  1. Germany no. 4 of 10 native

    The custom of decorating a Christmas tree was born in the German-speaking lands, and the word “Tannenbaum” still means a Christmas tree today.

  2. Bosnia & Herzegovina no. 5 of 5 native

    Fir and beech forests are the most typical landscape of the Bosnian mountains and the backbone of the country’s timber industry; in the Perućica reserve in Sutjeska National Park grow giant firs and spruces several centuries old.