Subalpine fir
- Latin name: Abies lasiocarpa (Hook.) Nutt.
- French name: Sapin subalpin
- Synonym(s): Alpine fir
- Taxonomic Serial Number: 181830
Description
Leaves
Form
- Tip rounded or notched
- Needles crowded, curving upward from the sides of the twig and standing almost erect
- Those below appressed
- Occasionally arranged in 2 ranks
- Resin ducts large, remote from the surface
Length
- 25–40 mm, length variable on the same twig
Colour
- Greyish-green to light bluish-green
- Lines of white dots, more prominent on the lower surface
Buds
Form
- Broadly ovoid
- Resinous
Length
- 3–6 mm
Colour
- Light brown
Twigs
Form
- Stout
- Becoming hairy, retaining hair for several years
Colour
- Brownish becoming ash-grey
Seed cones (mature)
Form
- Erect, barrel-shaped
- Resinous
Length
- 4–10 cm
Colour
- Greyish-brown
Structure
- Scales wide
- Bracts shorter than the scales, wide, with an abruptly pointed needle-shaped tip
Timing
- Cones break up from early September
- Bare axis remains on the tree for several years
- Seeds abundant
Seeds
Form
- Resinous
- Seed wing firmly attached to seed coat
Length
- Seed about 6 mm
- Seed wing 10–18 mm
Colour
- Purple to brown
Bark
Form
- Smooth
- Blotched with raised resin blisters when young
- With age, breaking into irregular scales
Colour
- Ash-grey when young, becoming greyish-brown with age
Wood
Texture
- Light, soft, relatively weak
- Odourless
Colour
- Pale
Morphology
- No distinct heartwood
Uses
- Wood pulp, lumber
Size
Height
- To 30 m
- May be shrubby on exposed ridges at the tree line
Diameter
- To 75 cm
Maximum age
- 200 years
Tree form
Open-grown
Crown
- Lower branches sometimes touching the ground
Forest-grown
Trunk
- Cylindrical
Crown
- Narrow, dense, with a spire-like top
- Branches short, drooping
Root system
- Shallow, wide-spreading
Habitat
Site
- High-altitude tree (600–2000 m) in southern part of range
- Uncommon near the Pacific Coast
- Found on a variety of soils
- Frequently colonizes newly exposed ground
- Capable of reproducing on humus layers under a forest cover
Light tolerance
- Shade-tolerant
Associated species
- Exists in pure stands or mixed with Engelmann spruce, mountain hemlock, subalpine larch, lodgepole pine, white birch, and trembling aspen
Range
Central British Columbia, western Alberta, northward into Yukon
Photos
Photos
Insects and mites
Insects that cause damage to this tree.
-
Poplar-and-willow borer
Scientific name: Cryptorhynchus lapathi (Linnaeus).
Cones or seeds
- Enypia venata (Grote)
- Eupithecia placidata (Taylor)
-
Filament bearer
Scientific name: Nematocampa resistaria (Herrich-Schaffer)
-
Two-year cycle spruce budworm
Scientific name: Choristoneura occidentalis biennis (Freeman)
Foliage or buds
-
Balsam woolly adelgid
Scientific name: Adelges piceae (Ratzeburg)
- Coleotechnites atrupictella (Dietz)
- Cosmia elisae (J.B. Smith)
-
Dioryctria moth
Scientific name: Dioryctria pseudotsugella Munroe
-
Douglas-fir bud moth
Scientific name: Zeiraphera hesperiana (Mutuura & Freeman)
-
Douglas-fir tussock moth
Scientific name: Orgyia pseudotsugata (McDunnough)
- Enypia griseata (Grossbeck)
- Enypia venata (Grote)
- Eulithis destinata (Moesch)
- Eupithecia longipalpata (Packard)
- Eupithecia olivacea (Taylor)
- Feralia comstocki Grote
-
Filament bearer
Scientific name: Nematocampa resistaria (Herrich-Schaffer)
-
Fir needle inchworm
Scientific name: Eupithecia lariciata (Frey.)
- Gabriola dyari (Taylor)
-
Gray spruce looper
Scientific name: Caripeta divisata Walker
-
Green velvet looper
Scientific name: Epirrita autumnata (Harrison)
-
Greenstriped forest looper
Scientific name: Melanolophia imitata (Walker)
- Hydriomena irata Swett
- Hydriomena speciosata (Packard)
-
Larch pug moth
Scientific name: Eupithecia annulata (Hulst)
- Pero behrensaria (Packard)
-
Pero moth
Scientific name: Pero morrisonaria (Hy. Edwards)
-
Pine measuringworm moth
Scientific name: Hypagyrtis piniata (Pack.)
-
Pine tussock moth
Scientific name: Dasychira grisefacta (Dyar)
-
Poplar-and-willow borer
Scientific name: Cryptorhynchus lapathi (Linnaeus).
- Protoboarmia porcelaria (Guenee)
-
Purplestriped shootworm
Scientific name: Zeiraphera unfortunana Powell
-
Redlined conifer caterpillar
Scientific name: Feralia jocosa (Gn.)
-
Saddleback looper
Scientific name: Ectropis crepuscularia (Denis and Schiffermuller)
-
Small pine looper
Scientific name: Eupithecia palpata Pack.
-
Spruce climbing cutworm
Scientific name: Syngrapha alias (Ottolengui)
-
Spruce fir looper
Scientific name: Macaria signaria dispuncta (Walker)
-
Spruce tip moth; redstriped needleworm
Scientific name: Epinotia radicana (Heinr.)
- Synaxis pallulata (Hulst)
- Syndemis afflictana Walker
- Syngrapha celsa (Henry Edwards)
- Thallophaga hyperborea (Hulst)
-
Two-year cycle spruce budworm
Scientific name: Choristoneura occidentalis biennis (Freeman)
-
Western false hemlock looper
Scientific name: Nepytia freemani (Munroe)
-
Western hemlock looper
Scientific name: Lambdina fiscellaria lugubrosa (Hulst)
-
Whitelined looper
Scientific name: Epirrita pulchraria (Taylor)
-
Whitetriangle leafroller
Scientific name: Clepsis persicana (Fitch)
- Xestia mustelina (Smith)
-
Yellowlined forest looper
Scientific name: Cladara limitaria (Walker)
Roots, bark, stem or trunk, or branches
Diseases caused by pathogens
Diseases caused by pathogens that cause damage to this tree.
Brown cubical butt and pocket rot of cedar
Pathogen name: Oligoporus sericeomollis (Romell) Bondartseva
Fir needle cast (Lirula abietis-concoloris)
Pathogen name: Lirula abietis-concoloris (Mayr ex Dearn.) Darker
-
Brown cubical butt and pocket rot of cedar
Pathogen name: Oligoporus sericeomollis (Romell) Bondartseva
-
Brown cubical sap rot
Pathogen name: Gloeophyllum sepiarium (Wulfen: Fr.) P. Karst.
-
Fir needle cast (Isthmiella abietis)
Pathogen name: Isthmiella abietis (Dearn.) Darker
-
Fir needle cast (Lirula abietis-concoloris)
Pathogen name: Lirula abietis-concoloris (Mayr ex Dearn.) Darker
-
Fir needle cast (Lirula punctata)
Pathogen name: Lirula punctata (Darker) Darker
-
Fir needle cast (Lophodermium decorum)
Pathogen name: Lophodermium decorum Darker
-
Fir-bracken rust
Pathogen name: Uredinopsis pteridis
-
Fir-lady fern rust
Pathogen name: Uredinopsis longimucronata
-
Fir-oak fern rust (Uredinopsis phegopteridis)
Pathogen name: Uredinopsis phegopteridis
-
Fir-ostrich fern rust
Pathogen name: Uredinopsis struthiopteridis
-
Fir-willow rust
Pathogen name: Melampsora abietis-capraearum Tub.
-
Ribes-willow rust
Pathogen name: Melampsora ribesii-purpureae
-
Spruce needle cast (Lophodermium piceae)
Pathogen name: Lophodermium piceae (Fckl.)
-
Spruce needle cast (Lophodermium uncinatum)
Pathogen name: Lophodermium uncinatum Darker
Cones or seeds
-
Brown felt blight
Pathogen name: Herpotrichia juniperi (Duby) Petr.
Foliage or buds
-
Balsam fir tip blight
Pathogen name: Delphinella balsameae (Waterm.) E. Müller
-
Brown felt blight
Pathogen name: Herpotrichia juniperi (Duby) Petr.
-
Fir broom rust
Pathogen name: Melampsorella elatina (Alb. & Schwein.) Arthur
-
Fir-blueberry rust
Pathogen name: Pucciniastrum geoppertianum (Kuehn) Kleb.
-
Fir-fireweed rust
Pathogen name: Pucciniastrum epilobii G. Otth
-
Fir-oak-fern rust (Hyalopsora aspidiotus)
Pathogen name: Hyalopsora aspidiotus (Magn.) Magn.
-
Hemlock-willow rust
Pathogen name: Melampsora epitea Thuem.
-
Snow blight
Pathogen name: Phacidium infestans P. Karst
Roots, bark, stem or trunk, or branches
Brown cubical butt and pocket rot of cedar
Pathogen name: Oligoporus sericeomollis (Romell) Bondartseva
Pitted sap rot
Pathogen name: Trichaptum abietinum (Dicks.) Ryvarden (Common names for this fungus: purple conk fungus, purple-toothed polypore)
Distribution map
