Abies durangensis description

Abies durangensis Mart.

Common Names

Taxonomic notes

One variety, coahuilensis (Johnst.) Mart., the Coahuila fir (1).

Description

"A narrow tree 2-40 m tall, 60-100 cm in girth, with a pyramidal or rounded crown. Bark dark red-brown, fissured, exterior surface grey. Branchlets red-brown, smooth to finely pubescent in the grooves. Buds oblong-ovoid, very resinous with pink-yellow resin. Leaves nearly 2-ranked, 10-40 mm long by 1.5 mm wide, grooved and bright green above, keeled and glaucous below, stomata on both surfaces but more numerous below in 2 white bands with 10 lines, apex rounded or obtuse. Females cones in groups of 1-2, subcylindric or oblong, pale to medium brown, 5.5-10 cm long by 3.5-4 cm wide, scales oblong-transverse, hidden bracts about 1/2 height of scale or more. Seeds resinous with a yellow nut up to 8 mm long and orange-yellow wings 7-10 mm long" (1).

Range

Mexico: Durango and Chihuahua at 1600-2933 m altitude (1).

Big Tree

Oldest

Dendrochronology

Ethnobotany

Observations

Remarks

The variety coahuilensis is found in Coahuila, in the northern Sierra Madre, to 2270 m altitude. It is described as:

"A tree 20-30 m tall, to 90 cm in girth, habit rather like a Douglas-fir. Bark rugose, black, smoother and paler on upper parts of tree. Branchlets brown, densely pubescent. Leaves nearly 2-ranked, 10-25 mm long by 1.7 mm wide, shiny green, hypoderm thicker than in the type variety, fibrovascular bundle continuous, stomata often only on upper surface, apex pointed or obtuse. Female cone ovoid, apex pointed with a slight nipple, brown, to 10 cm long by 4 cm wide; scales obovate-cuneate, pubescent, erose-denticulate on their margins; bracts hidden, about 2/3 the size of the scale. Seed with a 6-8 mm long nut and wing to 10 mm long" (1).

Citations

(1) Silba 1986.