Flora of New Zealand Series

Caucasian fir

Large tree to c. 30 m high; trunk grey, smooth, except for slightly fissured bark near base. Shoots brown, short, hairy, grooved. Buds ovoid, not resinous; bud scales slightly keeled, appressed. Foliage ± pectinate and at right angles to shoot on older and lower parts of shoot, dense and sloping forwards to cover upper side towards shoot apex. Lvs 1.5-3.5-(4.5) cm long (often smaller on coning shoots), glossy dark green above; stomatal bands white below; resin ducts mostly marginal, ± median on ♀ coning shoots; apex emarginate. ♂ strobili crimson, < 1 cm long. Mature cones on upper branches, 12-18 cm long, broad-cylindric, brown; ovuliferous scales very broad, rounded; bracts exserted, the cuspidate tip 3-4 mm long and pointing upwards. Seed wing c. 1.5 cm long, truncate at apex.

S.: Lake Coleridge and almost certainly Hanmer, inland Canterbury.

Black Sea and W. Caucasus 1988

Modified forest areas near planted trees.

Caucasian fir is probably the commonest Abies sp. in N.Z., and has been widely planted in large gardens, parks and domains. Regeneration is generally uncommon but it has been reported occasionally.

The very closely related A. alba Miller, silver fir, is sometimes planted and has been recorded wild (as A. pectinata) at Hanmer, N. Canterbury, but this is unconfirmed. It is often confused with A. nordmanniana in N.Z., but whereas Caucasian fir has the lvs covering the upper side of the shoot, silver fir foliage has a V-shaped parting on the upper side of the terminal part of the shoot. In addition, the lvs of silver fir often have more stomatal bands, and the shoots are more densely hairy. Shoots from lower branches in the sun should be used for comparison. In both spp. the cones ripen in the late summer and are ± confined to the upper part of the tree.