Short Description
Colorado fir is an evergreen coniferous tree with a conical crown. It grows up to 25 meters high.
The needles are gray-green on both sides, dull and curved upwards. They sit singly and loosely on the branch. With a length of up to eight centimeters, they are particularly long.
The bark is light to dark gray. In young trees it is smooth. As the tree ages, the bark becomes rougher.
There are male and female flower cones. The male flowers grow in the middle and lower part of the tree. They are red or pink. The female flowers are more in the upper third of the tree. They have partly a yellow-green and partly a red color.
The mature cones are light brown and have a cylindrical shape. They stand on the branches.
Features
White fir
Abies concolor
Needles very long
upright cones
In the city
Colorado fir is widely distributed as a park and garden tree. It has low site requirements and is tolerant to frost and drought. For this reason, it is considered a good urban tree.
Fun Facts
In America, it is a very popular Christmas tree.
The cones are often buried by squirrels as a food supply.
Especially large old Colorado firs are used by bears as winter quarters in America.
The flowering period is from May to July.
- Endangerment level Germany: not evaluated
The Colorado fir originates from the west of North America. It was brought to Europe as an ornamental shrub and belongs to the non-native plants (neophytes).
The wood of the Colorado fir is of rather poor quality and is therefore only used for plywood and paper production.
Sources
Habitus, Dr. Bernd Gross, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Naturdenkmal_Kolorado-Tanne_Sporbitz_1.JPG
Nadeln, Marija Gajić, CC BY-SA 4.0 International, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Abies_concolor_(2).JPG
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Zapfen, USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Herman, D.E. et al, CC0 1.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Abies_concolor_cones.jpg
Spohn, M. & Spohn, R. (2011) Kosmos - Baumführer Europa. 680 Bäume, 2600 Zeichnungen, Stuttgart: Franckh Kosmos Verlag.
Mitchell, A. (1979) Die Wald- und Parkbäume Europas. Ein Bestimmungsbuch für Dendrologen und Naturfreunde, Hamburg und Berlin: Verlag Paul Parey.
Jacobi, F. (2006) Das Pflanzenbestimmungsbuch. Gehölze, Hamburg: Dr. Felix Büchner, Handwerk und Technik.
Page „Kolorado-Tanne“. : Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Date of last revision: 27.06.2017, 14:24 UTC. URL: https://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kolorado-Tanne&oldid=166768739 (Accessed: 14.11.2017).