Abies bracteata

Abies bracteata
Conservation status
Conservation Dependent (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Pinophyta Class: Pinopsida Order: Pinales Family: Pinaceae Genus: Abies Species: A. bracteata
Binomial name
Abies bracteata (D. Don) A. Poit.

The Bristlecone Fir or Santa Lucia Fir (Abies bracteata) is a rare fir, confined to slopes and the bottoms of rocky canyons in the Santa Lucia Mountains on the central coast of California, USA.

It is a tree 20-35 m tall, with a slender, spire-like form. The bark is reddish-brown with wrinkles, lines and resin vesicles ('blisters'). The branches are downswept. The needle-like leaves are arranged spirally on the shoot, but twisted at the base to spread either side of the shoot in two moderately forward-pointing ranks with a 'v' gap above the shoot; hard and stiff with a sharply pointed tip, 3.5-6 cm long and 2.5-3 mm broad, with two bright white stomatal bands on the underside. The cones are ovoid, 6-9 cm long (to 12 cm including the bracts), and differ from other firs in that the bracts end in very long, spreading, yellow-brown bristles 3-5 cm long; they disintegrate in autumn to release the winged seeds. The male (pollen) cones are 2 cm long, shedding pollen in spring.

A popular ornamental, it can be seen in many arboreta (Gymnosperm Database).

References

• Conifer Specialist Group (1998). Abies bracteata. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006.
• Gymnosperm Database: Abies bracteata
• Photos of foliage

Further reading

• Rogers, David Perfect Pattern of Silvan Perfection on the Symmetrical Plan, the Rare Santa Lucia Fir (1998)