Introductory
SPECIES: Abies balsamea | Balsam Fir 



ABBREVIATION : 
ABIBAL

SYNONYMS : 
NO-ENTRY


SCS PLANT CODE : 
   ABBA


COMMON NAMES : 
   balsam fir
   balsam
   Canadian balsam
   Canada balsam
   eastern fir
   bracted balsam fir
   blister fir


TAXONOMY : 
The currently accepted scientific name of balsam fir is Abies balsamea
(L.) Mill [32].  The genus Abies consists of about 40 species of
evergreen trees found in the Northern Hemisphere.  Nine Abies species,
including balsam fir, are native to the United States.

Balsam fir is widely distributed and exhibits geographic variation.  Two
varieties based on morphological differences are recognized [47]:

          var. balsamea
          var. phanerolepis Fern.

Balsam fir is closely related to Fraser fir (A. fraseri).  These species
are probably relicts of an ancestral taxon which exhibited north-south
clinal variation [24].  Trees in Virginia and West Virginia are possibly
hybrids between these two species [32].  Some authorities recognize
Fraser fir as a variety of balsam fir:  A. b. var. fraseri [21].

Balsam fir hybridizes with subalpine fir (A. lasiocarpa) where their
ranges overlap in the Canadian Rockies [24].


LIFE FORM : 
Tree

FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS : 
No special status

OTHER STATUS : 
NO-ENTRY


COMPILED BY AND DATE : 
Ronald Uchytil, July 1991


LAST REVISED BY AND DATE : 
NO-ENTRY


AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION : 
Uchytil, Ronald J. 1991. Abies balsamea. In: Remainder of Citation

Related categories for Species: Abies balsamea | Balsam Fir