The scientific name of Abies balsamea var. Canaan fir had not, at that time, been described separately. Bracted balsam fir is found from Labrador to Ontario, and from the coast of Maine to the higher mountains of Virginia and West Virginia. The environments in which most natural stands are found is quite similar to those of balsam fir and Fraser fir. The optimum habitat appears to be a cool climate, abundant moisture and deep, well-drained soils.
Soils are moderately to strongly acidic.
In the mid 1930's, suggestions were made by several authors that some specimens of the variety phanerolepis had a sufficient number of traits of both balsam and Fraser fir that it should not be recognized as a variety but as a separate species. These specimens were generally found in West Virginia and Virginia. One author suggested the name be changed to Abies intermedia to reflect this intermediate nature of the plants' characteristics. The classification as a separate species has since fallen out of favor, but some commercial nurseries still market the trees as Abies intermedia . Canaan fir is so-named because several of the original trees with the intermediate morphology were identified from a limited area in West Virginia, generally referred to as the Canaan Valley.