Balsam fir
- Latin name: Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.
- French name: Sapin baumier
- Synonym(s): Canada balsam
- Taxonomic Serial Number: 18032
Description
Leaves
Form
- Tip rounded or notched
- Needles arranged in 2 ranks, shorter on the upper side of the twig
- Resin ducts small, remote from the surface
- Strong odour when crushed
Length
- 15–25 mm
Colour
- Upper surface shiny dark green, often a few white dots toward the tip
- Lower surface with 10–12 lines of white dots
Buds
Form
- Broadly ovoid
- Resinous
Length
- 5 mm
Twigs
Form
- Smooth, hairy
Colour
- Greenish-grey
Seed cones (mature)
Form
- Erect, barrel-shaped
- Resinous
Length
- 4–10 cm
Colour
- Greyish-brown
Structure
- Bracts with rounded shoulders and a needle-shaped tip, sometimes longer than the scales
Timing
- Cones break up from early September
- Bare cone axis retained on tree for several years
- Seeds abundant
Seeds
Form
- Resinous
- Firmly attached to seed coat
Length
- Seed 3–6 mm
- Seed wing 10–15 mm
Colour
- Purple to brown
Bark
Form
- Smooth with raised resin blisters when young
- With age, breaking into irregular scales
Colour
- Greyish when young, becoming brownish with age
Wood
Texture
- Light, soft, weak, somewhat brittle
- Odourless
Colour
- White
Morphology
- Little contrast between earlywood and latewood
- Little contrast between heartwood and sapwood
Uses
- Wood pulp, lumber, Christmas trees
Size
Height
- To 25 m
Diameter
- To 70 cm
Maximum age
- 150 years
Tree form
Open-grown
Crown
- Lower branches remain alive
- Green foliage extends to the ground
Forest-grown
Trunk
- Slightly tapered below the crown
- Dead branches persist for several years
Crown
- Crown regular
- Gradually tapers to a spire-like top
Root system
- Shallow
Habitat
Site
- Variety of soils and climates
Associated species
- Grows in pure stands or mixed with trembling aspen, white birch, white spruce, black spruce, red spruce, and eastern hemlock
Range
Northern forests of central and eastern Canada
Photos
Photos
Derek Johnson
Insects and mites
Insects that cause damage to this tree.
-
Pale winged grey
Scientific name: Iridopsis ephyraria (Wlk.)
-
Pales weevil
Scientific name: Hylobius pales (Herbst)
Cones or seeds
- Choristoneura lambertiana (Busck)
-
Fir coneworm
Scientific name: Dioryctria abietivorella (Grote)
-
Orange spruce needleminer
Scientific name: Coleotechnites piceaella (Kearfott)
-
Orange tortrix
Scientific name: Argyrotaenia citrana (Fernie)
-
Spruce budworm
Scientific name: Choristoneura fumiferana (Clemens)
-
Spruce coneworm
Scientific name: Dioryctria reniculelloides Mutuura and Munroe
Flowers, fruits, or seeds
-
Orange spruce needleminer
Scientific name: Coleotechnites piceaella (Kearfott)
-
Spruce budworm
Scientific name: Choristoneura fumiferana (Clemens)
-
Spruce coneworm
Scientific name: Dioryctria reniculelloides Mutuura and Munroe
Foliage or buds
-
Balsam fir sawfly
Scientific name: Neodiprion abietis (Harris)
-
Balsam gall midge
Scientific name: Paradiplosis tumifex Gagné
-
Balsam shootboring sawfly
Scientific name: Pleroneura brunneicornis Rohwer
-
Balsam twig aphid
Scientific name: Mindarus abietinus Koch
-
Balsam woolly adelgid
Scientific name: Adelges piceae (Ratzeburg)
- Choristoneura lambertiana (Busck)
-
Eastern blackheaded budworm
Scientific name: Acleris variana (Fernald)
- Feralia comstocki Grote
-
Fir coneworm
Scientific name: Dioryctria abietivorella (Grote)
-
Gray spruce looper
Scientific name: Caripeta divisata Walker
-
Green larch looper
Scientific name: Semiothisa sexmaculata (Packard)
-
Hemlock looper
Scientific name: Lambdina fiscellaria (Guenée)
-
Larch pug moth
Scientific name: Eupithecia annulata (Hulst)
-
Northern tent caterpillar
Scientific name: Malacosoma californicum pluviale (Dyar)
-
Orange spruce needleminer
Scientific name: Coleotechnites piceaella (Kearfott)
-
Orange tortrix
Scientific name: Argyrotaenia citrana (Fernie)
-
Pero moth
Scientific name: Pero morrisonaria (Hy. Edwards)
-
Pine measuringworm moth
Scientific name: Hypagyrtis piniata (Pack.)
-
Pine needle scale
Scientific name: Chionaspis pinifoliae (Fitch)
- 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 budworm
Scientific name: Choristoneura fumiferana (Clemens)
-
Spruce climbing cutworm
Scientific name: Syngrapha alias (Ottolengui)
-
Spruce coneworm
Scientific name: Dioryctria reniculelloides Mutuura and Munroe
-
Spruce webspinning sawfly
Scientific name: Cephalcia fascipennis (Cresson)
-
Threelined larch sawfly
Scientific name: Anoplonyx luteipes (Cresson)
-
White slaut
Scientific name: Tetracis cachexiata (Guenée)
-
Whitetriangle leafroller
Scientific name: Clepsis persicana (Fitch)
-
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
-
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 (Lophodermium lacerum)
Pathogen name: Lophodermium lacerum Darker
-
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.)
Foliage or buds
-
Balsam fir tip blight
Pathogen name: Delphinella balsameae (Waterm.) E. Müller
-
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.
-
Hemlock-willow rust
Pathogen name: Melampsora epitea Thuem.
-
Needle cast
Pathogen name: Isthmiella faullii (Darker) Darker
-
Snow blight
Pathogen name: Phacidium infestans P. Karst
Roots, bark, stem or trunk, or branches
Annosus root and butt rot (Heterobasidion irregulare)
Pathogen name: Heterobasidion irregulare (Underw.) Garbel. & Otrosina
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)
Schweinitzii butt rot
Pathogen name: Phaeolus schweinitzii (Fr.) Pat. (Common names for the fungus: velvet-topped polypore, dyer’s polypore)
Distribution map
