White
Fir vs. Red Fir
by Bruce
Homer-Smith
White
Fir (Abies concolor) and Red Fir (Abies magnifica) are tall conifers, both
growing over 150 feet tall. As firs,
they have single needles rather than bunches of needles as pines do. Their pine cones stick up from branches at
the top of the tree.
Where found
|
White Fir |
Red Fir |
|
Found in middle elevations of tall mountain ranges (3,000 – 8,000 ft. |
Found in similar
high mountain ranges, overlapping but generally higher than White Fir (5,000
– 9,000). |
Both
species mix with other conifers. These
firs grow well in shady places, so in a mature forest they slowly replace pines
that need sunlight to grow from seedlings.
However, when fire comes through, pines will prosper again.
Needles
|
White Fir |
Red Fir |
|
Needles are flat, from 1 – 3” long. On lower branches they open up to make a smooth surface, as shown here. Higher up, needles point up as with red fir, but are still flat and generally longer. |
Needles are
triangular or square in cross section, are less than 1.5” long, and stiffer
than White Fir. Needles always point
up, and are more densely packed than White Fir. |
|
White Fir has
silver-green needles. |
Red Fir has
blue-green needles. |
Pine Cones
|
White Fir |
Red Fir |
|
Pine cones are
tightly packed cylinders, up to 4 inches tall. They point up from upper branches. |
Red Fir pine cones
are bigger (4 to 8 inches tall). They
also cluster near the top of the tree and point up. |
Bark
|
White
Fir |
Red
Fir |
|
Bark starts out
white and turns grey with age. Tree
top bark is white. Inner bark in
furrows of mature trunks is tan. |
Outer bark is
smooth and pale on young trees, and dark red on mature ones. Inner bark is purplish-red. |
Once you’ve figured out the differences between these
trees you can judge them from a distance by their needle color and bark color.
These differences are subtle but rewarding to figure
out. Have fun!
|
|
Corrections/Comments: bruce@PlantID.net Copyright: https://PlantID.net/Contributors.aspx |
