Pacific Silver Fir

Abies amabilis

Pacific Silver Fir (Abies amabilis)

Identifying Characters: The cones of Pacific Silver Fir are purple and the brachts are not visible; needles are deep green above and silvery below, and arise from both the twig's outer and top sides; Pacific Silver Fir is restricted to the Pacific Northwest.

Similar Species: Similar to Grand Fir, but cones of Grand Fir green, not purple; bark of younger specimens of Grand Fir brown, not gray; needles of White Fir arising from outer margin of twig and curving upward, not arising from both sides and top of twig.

Measurements: Height 80 to 150 feet; diameter 2 to 4 feet at breast height.

Cones: 3 to 6 inches long, brachts short and hidden by the scales of the cone; cone purple to purple-green.

Needles: Needles 0.75 to 1.5 inches long, dark green above, silvery white below, arranged on both the sides and the tops of twigs.

Bark: Light gray and smooth, in younger trees becoming scaly and red-gray or red brown in older trees.

Native Range: Pacific Silver Fir is found in southeastern Alaska, in coastal British Columbia and Vancouver Island, and along the western and upper eastern slopes of the Cascade Range in Washington and Oregon. It also grows throughout the Olympic Mountains and sporadically in the Coast Ranges of Washington and northern Oregon. Near Crater Lake, Oregon, Pacific Silver Fir disappears from the Cascade Range and then reappears at a few locations in the Klamath Mountains of northwestern California. The major portion of its range lies between latitudes 43° and 55° N. (Silvics of North America. 1990. Agriculture Handbook 654.)

Habitat: Cool, wet regions of the Pacific Northwest including the coastal zone and interior mountain valleys