Plant Species: Abies grandis, grand fir
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Coniferophyta -- conifers
Class: Pinopsida
Family: Pinaceae -- pine
Genus: Abies
Species: grandis
Variety:
Common Name: grand fir
Species Code: ABGR
Origin: Native to western North America.
Rare: no
Form: tree to 90 m tall; bark grey, smooth or shallowly ridged and flaking; branches mostly horizontal.
Duration: perennial
Longevity: long-lived
Habitat Type: forest
Wetland Indicator Status: FACU-
Leaves: needles linear, blunt, shiny green with 2 white lines of stomata on the underside, grooved on the upper surface, 18-50 mm long, arranged in 2 ranks so that the foliage appears flat.
Mature height: 200 feet
Flowers: The male and female reproductive parts are borne in separate strobili (cones) on the same tree. The male or pollen cones drop from the tree soon after the pollen is released.
The female or seed cones are borne erect on the branches. Ovules are borne in pairs at the base of the cone scale.
Flower color: The conifers are gymnosperms and do not have flowers in the traditional sense.
Bloom: late spring
Bloom starts on:
Bloom ends on:
Fruit: pistillate cones cylindrical-oblong, 7-10 cm long, erect, yellowish green to green, often covered with resin drops. Seeds brown, 8-9 mm long, cotyledons usually 5-6, sometimes 4 or 7. Staminate cones yellow.
Vegetation type: strictly a forest species
Characteristics:
2n=24 (Baldwin et al 2004).
Reproduces sexually by seed.
23,200 seeds/lb (USDA NRCS PLANTS Database 2009).
Wind pollinated.
Monoecy prevents autogamy, but geitonogamy is still possible.
Native peoples used various parts of the plants medicinally. The trees are used for wood products.
Trees provide cover and shelter for wildlife.
A. grandis is a minor component of Rocky Mountain elk diet in winter (Kufeld 1973).
Seeds are dispersed by wind for short distances.
Comments:
Sun requirement:
Soil moisture: mesic
Precipitation: 11-100 inches (USDA NRCS PLANTS Database 2009)
Hazards:
Sowing time: fall
Transplant time: spring
Stratification: cold moist
Seed yield:
Seed harvest: difficult because of the height of mature trees
Seed first harvest:
Seed cleaning: difficult
Planting duration: long
Seed insect problem:
Seed shatter:
Seed size: 23,200 seeds/lb (USDA NRCS PLANTS Database 2009)
Seed harvest date:
Seed comments:
Herbaria:
Key words:
Alternate Genus:
Alternate Species:
Alternate Variety:
Notes:
References: Baldwin, B.G., S. Boyd, B.J. Ertter, D.J. Keil, R.W. Patterson, T.J. Rosatti, and D.H. Wilken (eds). 2004. Jepson Online Interchange for California Floristics. University and Jepson Herbaria, University of California, Berkeley, CA. Online at http://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/interchange.html . Accessed 7/13/09.
Kufeld, Roland. 1973. Foods Eaten by the Rocky Mountain Elk. Journal of Range Management 26:106-113.
USDA, NRCS. 2009. The PLANTS Database (http://plants.usda.gov, 13 July 2009). National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.