Grand fir
- Latin name: Abies grandis (Dougl. Ex D.Don) Lindl.
- French name: Sapin grandissime
- Synonym(s): Lowland fir
- Taxonomic Serial Number: 183284
Description
Leaves
Form
- Relatively stiff
- Shorter on the upper side of the twig
- Upper surface grooved
- Tip notched
- Odour of oranges when crushed
- Needles horizontally spreading in 2 distinct ranks
- Resin ducts near lower surface
Length
- 20–35 mm
Colour
- Upper surface shiny dark green, sometimes with a few white dots at the tip
- Several lines of white dots on lower surface
Buds
Form
- Broadly ovoid
- Blunt-tipped
- Resinous
Length
- 5 mm
Colour
- Purple or bluish-brown
Twigs
Form
- Slender
- Minutely hairy
Colour
- Olive-green to dark orange-brown
Seed cones (mature)
Form
- Cylindrical to narrowly ovoid
- Tip blunt or sunken
Length
- 5–12 cm
Colour
- Green to purplish
Structure
- Scales much wider (25–30 mm) than long
- Bracts shorter than the scales, with broad pointed shoulders sloping inward to the base of the tip, a small tooth no higher than the tops of the shoulders
Seeds
Length
- Seed 6–10 mm
- Seed wing 12–20 mm
Colour
- Light brown or tan
Bark
Form
- Smooth, with resin blisters when young
- With age, becoming thick and scaly, separating into flat ridges
Colour
- Greyish-brown with white blotches when young
- With age, becoming deep brown, ridges dark grey
Wood
Texture
- Light, soft, relatively weak
- Odourless
Colour
- Light brown
Uses
- Lumber, wood pulp, plywood
Size
Height
- To 40 m in coastal forests
- To 75 m on Vancouver Island
- Seldom reaches 40 m in interior British Columbia
Diameter
- To 90 cm
Maximum age
- 250 years
Tree form
Open-grown
Trunk
- On young, open-grown trees, trunk is completely hidden by branches that extend to the ground
Crown
- Pointed at top
Forest-grown
Trunk
- On old trees, slightly tapered, long compared with the length of the crown
Crown
- Cylindrical or oval, rounded at the top
- Principal branches horizontal
- Lower ones drooping, with upturned tips
Root system
- Deep, wide-spreading
Habitat
Site
- Occurs at relatively low elevations
- Best growth on deep, well-drained, alluvial soils
Light tolerance
- Moderately shade-tolerant
Associated species
- Occasionally found in pure stands; often mixed with western redcedar, black cottonwood, western hemlock, Douglas-fir, red alder, and Sitka spruce
Range
Coastal and interior forests of southern British Columbia
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)
-
Filament bearer
Scientific name: Nematocampa resistaria (Herrich-Schaffer)
Foliage or buds
- Argyrotaenia dorsalana (Dyar)
-
Balsam woolly adelgid
Scientific name: Adelges piceae (Ratzeburg)
-
Brownlined looper
Scientific name: Neoalcis californiaria (Packard)
-
Ceanothus silk moth
Scientific name: Hyalophora euryalis (Walker)
- Cosmia elisae (J.B. Smith)
-
Cypress leaftier
Scientific name: Epinotia subviridis Heinrich
-
Douglas-fir bud moth
Scientific name: Zeiraphera hesperiana (Mutuura & Freeman)
-
Douglas-fir tussock moth
Scientific name: Orgyia pseudotsugata (McDunnough)
- Egira hiemalis (Grote)
- Egira simplex (Walker)
- Enypia griseata (Grossbeck)
- Enypia venata (Grote)
- Eupithecia longipalpata (Packard)
- Eupithecia olivacea (Taylor)
-
Filament bearer
Scientific name: Nematocampa resistaria (Herrich-Schaffer)
- 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)
-
Greenstriped webspinning sawfly
Scientific name: Acantholyda balanata (MacGillivray)
- Hydriomena irata Swett
- Hydriomena speciosata (Packard)
-
Larch pug moth
Scientific name: Eupithecia annulata (Hulst)
- Nepytia umbrosaria nigrovenaria (Packard)
-
Northern tent caterpillar
Scientific name: Malacosoma californicum pluviale (Dyar)
-
Packard’s gridle moth
Scientific name: Enypia packardata (Taylor)
- Pero behrensaria (Packard)
-
Pero moth
Scientific name: Pero morrisonaria (Hy. Edwards)
-
Phantom hemlock looper
Scientific name: Nepytia phantasmaria (Strecker)
-
Poplar-and-willow borer
Scientific name: Cryptorhynchus lapathi (Linnaeus).
- Promylea lunigerella Ragonot
-
Redlined conifer caterpillar
Scientific name: Feralia jocosa (Gn.)
-
Silverspotted tiger moth
Scientific name: Lophocampa argentata (Packard)
-
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)
-
Western blackheaded budworm
Scientific name: Acleris gloverana (Walsingham)
-
Western hemlock looper
Scientific name: Lambdina fiscellaria lugubrosa (Hulst)
- 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.
Black stain root disease
Pathogen name: Grosmannia wageneri (Goheen & F.W. Cobb) Zipfel, Z.W. Beer & M.J. Wingf.
Fir needle cast (Lirula abietis-concoloris)
Pathogen name: Lirula abietis-concoloris (Mayr ex Dearn.) Darker
-
Black stain root disease
Pathogen name: Grosmannia wageneri (Goheen & F.W. Cobb) Zipfel, Z.W. Beer & M.J. Wingf.
-
Brown cubical sap rot
Pathogen name: Gloeophyllum sepiarium (Wulfen: Fr.) P. Karst.
-
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 needle cast (Lophodermium lacerum)
Pathogen name: Lophodermium lacerum 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.
-
Hashioka's fir-bracken rust
Pathogen name: Uredinopsis hashiokae
-
Ribes-willow rust
Pathogen name: Melampsora ribesii-purpureae
Cones or seeds
-
Brown felt blight
Pathogen name: Herpotrichia juniperi (Duby) Petr.
Foliage or buds
-
Brown felt blight
Pathogen name: Herpotrichia juniperi (Duby) Petr.
-
Conifer-aspen rust
Pathogen name: Melampsora medusae f. sp. tremuloidis Shain
-
Fir broom rust
Pathogen name: Melampsorella elatina (Alb. & Schwein.) Arthur
-
Fir-fireweed rust
Pathogen name: Pucciniastrum epilobii G. Otth
-
Fir-oak-fern rust (Hyalopsora aspidiotus)
Pathogen name: Hyalopsora aspidiotus (Magn.) Magn.
-
Fir-polypody rust
Pathogen name: Milesina leviuscula (Dietel & Holw.) Hirats.
-
Hemlock-willow rust
Pathogen name: Melampsora epitea Thuem.
-
Snow blight
Pathogen name: Phacidium infestans P. Karst
Roots, bark, stem or trunk, or branches
Annosus root and butt rot (Heterobasidion occidentale)
Pathogen name: Heterobasidion occidentale Otrosina & Garbel
Pitted sap rot
Pathogen name: Trichaptum abietinum (Dicks.) Ryvarden (Common names for this fungus: purple conk fungus, purple-toothed polypore)
White butt rot - White laminated rot
Pathogen name: Ceriporiopsis rivulosa (Berk. & Curtis) Gilb. & Ryvarden
Distribution map
