Abies procera - Noble Fir - Red Fir

General Information Common Name  Noble Fir, Red Fir Scientific Name  Abies procera Sun Tolerance  Full Sun Height  40 - 70 m (135 - 230 ft) Spread  10 -15 m (33 - 50 ft) Growth Rate  Fast Bloom Time  Spring Color  Green, Flower Color  Red Type  Tree Native  USA, Asia, Europe.

Classification Kingdom  Plantae – Plants Subkingdom  Tracheobionta – Vascular plants Superdivision Spermatophyta – Seed plants Division  Coniferophyta – Conifers Class  Pinopsida Subclass  Order  Pinales Family  Pinaceae – Pine family Genus  Abies Mill. –  Fir Species  A. procera

Abies procera -  Noble Fir – Red Fir

 Abies procera commonly known as Noble Fir also known as Red Fir. It also a Christmas Tree. It is native to Europe, North America. It is a large evergreen tree that grow 40–70 m (135–230 ft.) in height and 2 m (6.5 ft.) trunk diameter, sometime grow up to 90 m (295 ft.) tall and 2.7 m (8.9 ft.) diameter, with a narrow conic crown. It is a strikingly handsome conifer and is particularly distinguished by its glistening silvery green foliage and pale bluish-grey bark. It was introduced from Washington or Oregon in 1830.

The new shoots are rusty brown. The buds are small, round and resin-tipped. The needles are dense and upswept, massed on the top of the twig. They are a shining bluish-green on both surfaces, the upper being grooved. When pulled away they leave a neat round scar, not a peg.

Both sexes of flowers are found on the same tree. The handsome male catkins are deep purple, and borne in groups on the underside of the lower shoots. The female flowers, reddish or yellowish-green with long bracts, are erect and are to be found near the top of the tree and are thus seldom seen (though some specimens flower when only 15-20 feet tall). These develop into decorative large erect cylindrical pale green cones, 6 inches or more long and 3 inches or wider, developing dark grey scales partly covered by long green, reflexed, feathery bracts. They become brown and ripen and disintegrate in September leaving the persistent central spike on the tree.

The bark is thin at first and pale grey, with some resin blisters. Later the bark is pale bluish or silver-grey, coming broken by narrow grooves into irregular plates covered with scales that flake off to show a red inner bark. The stem bears whorls of branches, and often shows a marked taper, terminating in a stout leader that usually has to help to bear the weight of many heavy cones on its short side ranches. The wood is brownish-white, somewhat similar to Spruce, and is used for joinery, packing cases, paper pulp, and general purposes.

The tree is doing well silviculturally, on a small scale, in damp, cold mountain situations in USA and Europe, where it has proved hardy and stands exposure well. It is a useful and attractive under-plant. As other fir this is also plant as ornamental tree in home garden or park. 

Abies procera as Christmas Tree

Abies procera -  Noble Fir – Red Fir

Leaves of  Noble Fir 

Abies procera Leaves

Male Catkin of  Noble Fir 

Male Catkins of Abies procera 

Female Catkins of  Noble Fir 

Female Catkins of Abies procera 

 Red Fir Female Flower

Seeds of  Noble Fir 

Bark of  Noble Fir

Long Trunk of  Noble Fir

Abies procera -  Noble Fir – Red Fir As ornamental plant

Abies procera -  Noble Fir – Red Fir in garden

Abies procera -  Noble Fir – Red Fir in forest

The Forest of Abies procera

Videos of Abies procera - Noble Fir

Noble Fir as ornamental Tree

Noble Fir as Christmas Tree

Red Fir

Abies procera