The strongly reflexed bracts, much longer than the scales, distinguish Fraser fir from balsam fir. Seed Production and Dissemination- Seed production may begin when trees are 15 years old. Good seed crops occur every other year with light crops in the intervening year. The combination of lightweight winged seeds, steep slopes, and high winds makes for good seed dispersal. Fruit ripens and is dispersed from September through mid-October.
Germination is epigeal.
It approximates 50 percent of sound seeds and appears to be correlated with length of the maturation period. In a good year, seeds averaged 78 percent filled, with only 3 percent infested by insects. In a poor year, only 36 Percent were filled, and 29 percent of that were infested by a seed chalcid, Megastigmus specularis. Fraser fir seeds germinate well on mineral soil, moss, peat, decaying stumps and logs, and even on litter that is sufficiently moist. When seeds germinate on surface litter, the seedlings usually die during dry weather.