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| ## White fir {#white-fir .Title-Header}                               |
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| *Abies concolor* (Gord. & Glend.) Lindl. ex. Hildebr.                 |
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| Plant Symbol = ABCO                                                   |
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Contributed by: USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center

![](media/image2.jpeg){width="1.8631944444444444in"
height="2.686111111111111in"}

#####  {#section .Header-3}

#####  {#section-1 .Header-3}

##### Alternate Names  {#alternate-names .Header-3}

*Abies grandis* var. *concolor*, balsam fir, Colorado white fir, *Picea
concolor, Pinus concolor*, silver fir, and white balsam. There are two
varieties of white fir, sometimes recognized as separate varieties and
sometimes grouped under the white fir blanket. They are Rocky Mountain
fir (*Abies concolor* var. *concolor*) and California white fir (*Abies
concolor* var. *lowiana*, also known as Sierra white fir).

##### Uses {#uses .Header-3}

*Ethnobotanic:* Native Americans used white fir for medicine, building
material, and for making household items. The needles were used to
relieve pain caused by rheumatism and pulmonary ailments. The resin was
used to heal cuts, sores, and boils and was also decocted for the
treatment of venereal diseases. Bark infusions were used to remedy
tuberculosis.

Bark was used to dye buckskin a tan color. Branches were used to line
storage containers and to make pipe stems. The plant was used to
decorate ceremonies and houses.

*Ornamental:* White fir is a popular species in the Christmas tree
industry. It is drought and heat resistant and is often used for
plantings in the rural and suburb landscapes of the northern United
States.

*Rehabilitation:* White fir is used to revegetate disturbed forest sites
where it naturally occurs. It is also an appropriate choice for use on
roadcuts due to its ability to stabilize soil.

*Wildlife:* White fir habitats are included in the summer and winter
ranges of deer, elk, and bear. Mountain beaver habitat use has been
correlated to white fir abundance. Many bird species, including bald
eagle, northern spotted owl, brown creeper, and red-breasted nuthatches
are associated with white fir habitat types.

Mule deer and black-tailed deer browse new foliage in the spring.
Porcupines consume white fir bark and can destroy saplings. Mice eat
snow-level suckers in the winter while pocket gophers eat seedlings in
the winter and fall. Blue grouse consume the needles. Grouse, chipmunks,
mice, flying squirrels, chickadees, crossbills, and Clark's nutcracker
consume white fir seeds. The Douglas squirrel caches white fir cones
during late summer and fall.

Hollowed-out trunks provide protection and shelter for many small
mammals including weasels, porcupines, and black bears.

*Wood Products:* White fir wood is used for all-purpose construction
materials like framing, plywood, and pulpwood. Its straight grain makes
the wood appropriate for use as poles and pilings. White fir is also
used for firewood although it does not produce much heat.

##### Legal Status {#legal-status .Header-3}

Rocky Mountain white fir (*Abies concolor* var. *concolor*) is protected
in Nevada as a Christmas tree. Please consult the PLANTS Web site and
your State Department of Natural Resources for this plant's current
status (e.g. threatened or endangered species, state noxious status, and
wetland indicator values).

##### Description {#description .Header-3}

*General*: Pine Family (Pinaceae). White fir is a large coniferous tree,
growing up to 55 m tall and having a dbh of up to 1 to 2 m, depending on
location. The bark is smooth, whitish-gray, and occasionally blistered
with resin vesicles, becoming thick, hard and irregularly furrowed with
age. The crown tends to be symmetrical and dome-shaped, although the
varieties of white fir may exhibit differences in crown shape.
California white fir has a cylindrical crown while Rocky Mountain white
fir has a broader crown. Branches are short and stout, arranged in
whorls of 4 or 5. Buds are blunt. Leaves (needles) are 3-7 cm long,
loosely 2-ranked, rounded at the ends, and curved upward. A waxy
covering give the needles a bluish cast. Needles also have two white
lines on their undersides. Cone production varies by site, tree size,
and age. White fir trees begin cone production at about 40 years and
bear cones at the upper third of the crown. Cones are 10-13 cm long,
greenish-yellow becoming dark purple, produce about 185-295 seeds each,
and shatter upon maturity. The seeds are released in the fall and
germinate in the spring.

Key characteristics of white fir include the similar coloring on both
upper and undersides of the needles, smooth bark with resin blisters,
long needles (in comparison to other fir species), resinous buds,
circular leaf scars, and a citrus odor that is released when the needle
is broken.

Morphological and chemical characters, such as needle tip shape,
stomatal arrangement, and terpene content, separate the two white fir
varieties.

*Distribution*: White fir is native to the western United States, from
Idaho, south through Colorado and New Mexico, and west through
California and Oregon. The Great Basin creates the gap between the
varieties. Rocky Mountain white fir occurs in the central portion of the
white fir range, from southeastern California, Arizona, and New Mexico
to southeastern Idaho and Colorado. It has also been planted in the New
England states. California white fir occurs from central California into
western portions of Nevada and southwest Oregon. It has been reported in
southern California, although there is no confirmation that these plants
are not the Rocky Mountain variety.

For current distribution, please consult the Plant Profile page for this
species on the PLANTS Web site.

*Habitat*: In the mixed conifer forests of California and southern
Oregon, white fir may form pure stands or share dominance with species
such as incense-cedar, ponderosa pine, lodgepole pine, sugar pine,
Jeffrey pine, and Douglas pine. It is also a secondary species in
subalpine woodlands represented by whitebark pine, limber pine, mountain
hemlock, lodgepole pine, western white pine and foxtail pine. California
white fir is one of the coniferous dominants of the California hardwood
forests. In the mixed-conifer forest of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, it
may share dominance with incense cedar, ponderosa pine, sugar pine, and
Douglas fir. The mesic sites at upper elevations of the Sierra Nevada
Mountains are referred to as the white fir zone.

Within the Cascade Range of northern California and central Oregon, the
white fir zone occurs at elevations above 1500 m. It is the dominant
species, having 18 known associations with species like lodgepole pine,
western serviceberry, mountain hemlock and Pacific rhododendron. It is
also found within mixed conifer stands at mid-elevations.

White fir is an indicator species of the lower elevation limit of
montane forest vegetation in the Klamath Mountains of California and
Oregon. At higher elevations, white fir shares dominance with red fir.
In the mountain ranges of southern California, white fir becomes the
dominant species at higher elevations. It is associated with sugar pine,
incense cedar, and western juniper.

The white fir series in the major mountain ranges in the southwest can
have any mixture of white fir with Douglas fir, Engelmann spruce, blue
spruce, subalpine fir, ponderosa pine, and southwestern white pine. It
is a dominant or climax species of several habitat types and series in
Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado.

In Utah, white fir occurs throughout the higher mountain ranges of the
northwestern region and increases in importance through southern Utah.
It occurs in subalpine zones with Engelmann spruce and blue spruce in
the Douglas fir series and ponderosa pine habitat types.

In southern Colorado and northern New Mexico, white fir is a co-climax
species with Douglas fir and is associated with blue spruce, limber
pine, ponderosa pine, Engelmann spruce, subalpine fir, quaking aspen,
and Rocky Mountain juniper. The white fir-Douglas fir-pondersoa pine
series is the most widespread and one of the most varied types in
Arizona and New Mexico. In mixed conifer forests, dominated by the white
fir-gambel oak habitat type, white fir shares climax status with Douglas
fir. Other associates include Chihuahua pine, Rocky Mountain lodgepole
pine, Mexican pinyon, and New Mexico locust.

White fir is widespread in riparian areas of Utah, Wyoming, Colorado,
Arizona, and New Mexico. It is associated with boxelder and narrowleaf
cottonwood in Utah, blue spruce and lodgepole pine in Wyoming, and with
blue spruce, cottonwood species, and Rocky Mountain maple in Colorado,
Arizona, and New Mexico. More detailed habitat descriptions can be found
in Zouhar (2001).

##### Adaptation {#adaptation .Header-3}

The USDA hardiness zones of white fir range from 3 to 7. It occurs at
varied elevations, ranging from 900 m to over 3000 m. Annual
precipitation varies among white fir sites from 350 mm to 1240 mm. White
fir tends to occupy more mesic sites at lower elevations and more xeric
sites at upper elevations. It grows on acidic soil, most types of parent
material, and is tolerant of a wide range of soil conditions, nutrient
availability, and pH. It grows best on moderately deep and well-drained
sandy- or clay- loam soils. It is moderately sensitive to excess soil
moisture and is less tolerant of shade compared to associated true firs.
Dense shade will decrease the growth rate, but will not kill the tree.

##### Establishment {#establishment .Header-3}

Germination and early growth are best if seeds have fallen on bare
mineral soil before the permanent snow cover has fallen. Root systems
are longer, heavier, and have more mycorrhizal root tips if grown in
bare mineral soil. Seedlings are best established in partial shade, but
can also establish in dense shade. Once established, it grows best in
full sun.

##### Management {#management .Header-3}

White fir is easily killed by fire. Low branches provide a ladder for
understory fire to reach the canopy. Prescribed burning is recommended
if pure stands of white fir are not desired and to reduce fuel loading.
Burns will promote suckering of other tree species so that pure stands
of white fir will not form.

White fir can be managed for timber harvest. Shelterwood methods have
the best regeneration results. Some overstory removal provides enough
light for white fir regeneration, but also provides enough shade to
prevent the regeneration of other species. Many white fir stands have
been managed using even-aged management techniques.

Mycorrhizal associations are important to the growth and health of white
fir. Bare mineral soils promote these associations that aid in
establishment on poor sites.

Lack of management in white fir stands may increase the trees' chances
of susceptibility to insect pests and diseases.

##### Pests and Potential Problems {#pests-and-potential-problems .Header-3}

Dwarf mistletoe is a common pest of white fir. The parasitic plants
germinate on white fir branches and force their roots into the phloem of
the host branch. Dwarf mistletoe weakens the tree and leaves it
susceptible to fungal infections and insect attacks. It also creates
stem cankers that leave the wood weak and unsuitable for use as lumber.

Wounding, as a result of mechanical injuries, fire, insects, or frost
cracks, promotes or provides entrance for fungi into white fir trees.
*Annosus*, *Armillaria*, laminated root diseases, yellow cap fungus,
Indian paint fungus, and white pocket rot reduce plant productivity and
cause wood decay and mortality. Fungal infections also promote
susceptibility to insect infestations.

The fir engraver beetle (*Scolytus ventralis)*, a member of the bark
beetle family, causes high mortality in white fir stands. The beetle
bores holes into the main stem, often in bark crevices at the branch and
trunk junctions. Once under the bark, adults engrave egg galleries into
the sapwood, disrupting the flow of water and nutrients to that portion
of the plant. The appearance of yellowed or reddened branches on an
otherwise green tree is early evidence of fir engraver infestation. Fir
engravers can kill the plant. The only known preventative is proper
maintenance of white fir trees.

White fir in shallow soils can be damaged by strong winds. The chances
of windthrow are increased when neighboring trees are removed.

#####  {#section-2 .Header-3}

##### Seeds and Plant Production {#seeds-and-plant-production .Header-3}

##### White fir is produced by seeds. Seeds are ready for collection when the cone easily breaks apart. A cold stratification period up to 60 days is required. Germination will occur under an alternating temperature cycle of 30^o^C daytime and 20^o^C nighttime temperatures. {#white-fir-is-produced-by-seeds.-seeds-are-ready-for-collection-when-the-cone-easily-breaks-apart.-a-cold-stratification-period-up-to-60-days-is-required.-germination-will-occur-under-an-alternating-temperature-cycle-of-30oc-daytime-and-20oc-nighttime-temperatures. .Header-3}

#####  {#section-3 .Header-3}

##### White fir is easily transplanted, although it is somewhat sensitive to being transplanted in autumn. If planted in autumn, care should be taken to fertilize, thoroughly water, adequately mulch, amend the soil, and avoid winter salt spray. These care practices will enhance the chances for survival during the first winter.  {#white-fir-is-easily-transplanted-although-it-is-somewhat-sensitive-to-being-transplanted-in-autumn.-if-planted-in-autumn-care-should-be-taken-to-fertilize-thoroughly-water-adequately-mulch-amend-the-soil-and-avoid-winter-salt-spray.-these-care-practices-will-enhance-the-chances-for-survival-during-the-first-winter. .Header-3}

##### Cultivars, Improved, and Selected Materials (and area of origin) {#cultivars-improved-and-selected-materials-and-area-of-origin .Header-3}

The USDA NRCS Plant Materials Program has not released white fir
cultivars for conservation use.

Ornamental cultivars are somewhat available from commercial growers in
ball and burlap form:

+-------------------------------+---------------------------------------+
| 'Blue Cloak'                  | 'Dwarf Blue'                          |
|                               |                                       |
| 'Blue Globe'                  | 'Gables Weeping'                      |
|                               |                                       |
| 'Blue Select'                 | 'Glenmore'                            |
|                               |                                       |
| 'Candicans'                   | 'Nana'                                |
|                               |                                       |
| 'Compacta'                    | 'Sherwood Blue'                       |
|                               |                                       |
| 'Conica'                      | 'Winter Gold'                         |
+-------------------------------+---------------------------------------+

**References**

Agricultural Research Center. 2004. *GRIN taxonomy*
(http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/index, 29 June 2004). USDA,
Beltsville.

Aldworth, S.J. 1998. *Abies concolor.*
(http://project.bio.iastate.edu/trees/campustree/ISU_trees.html, 29 June
2004). Iowa State University, Ames.

Baskin, C.J., J.M. Baskin. 2001. *Propagation protocol for production of
container Abies concolor (G&G) Lindl. plants.* (http://www.nativeplant
network.org, 29 June 2004). College of Natural Resources, University of
Idaho, Moscow.

Brand, M. 2001. *University of Connecticut plant database*
(http://www.hort.uconn.edu/plants/, 29 June 2004). University of
Connecticut, Storrs.

Earle, C.J. 2004. *Gymnosperm database*
(http://www.conifers.org/index.htm, 29 June 2004). Department of Botany,
University of Bonn, Germany.

Heatley, R. 1999. *Ornamental plants plus,* Version 3.0
(http://www.msue.msu.edu/imp/modzz/masterzz.html, 29 June 2004).
Michigan State University Extension, East Lansing.

Rhodes, T. 2002. *PlantFacts database* (http://plantfacts.osu.edu/, 29
June 2004). The Ohio State University, Columbus.

Virginia Tech Forestry Department. 2003. *Dendrology tree fact sheets*
(http://www.cnr.vt.edu/dendro/dendrology/factsheets. cfm, 29 June 2004).
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg.

#####  {#section-4 .Header-3}

##### Zouhar, K. 2001. *Abies concolor.* (http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/, 29 June 2004). Rocky Mountain Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Missoula. {#zouhar-k.-2001.-abies-concolor.-httpwww.fs.fed.usdatabasefeis-29-june-2004.-rocky-mountain-research-station-usda-forest-service-missoula. .Header-3}

##### Prepared By:  {#prepared-by .Header-3}

##### *Sarah Wennerberg* {#sarah-wennerberg .Header-3}

##### USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center {#usda-nrcs-national-plant-data-center .Header-3}

##### Baton Rouge, Louisiana {#baton-rouge-louisiana .Header-3}

##### Species Coordinator:  {#species-coordinator .Header-3}

*Mark Skinner*

##### USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center {#usda-nrcs-national-plant-data-center-1 .Header-3}

##### Baton Rouge, Louisiana {#baton-rouge-louisiana-1 .Header-3}

##### Edited: 4Aug2004 sbw, 13Oct2004 rln; 24may06jsp {#edited-4aug2004-sbw-13oct2004-rln-24may06jsp .Header-4}

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your
local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS
Web site\<[http://plants.usda.gov](http://plants.usda.gov/)\> or the
Plant Materials Program Web site
\<[http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov](http://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov/)\>

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