 Trees at Tiengboche, Nepal [Vladimir Dinets].
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Abies spectabilis (D. Don) Spach 1841
Common NamesEast Himalayan fir (4).Taxonomic notesSyn: Pinus spectabilis D. Don 1825; Pinus webbiana Wall ex D. Don in Lambert 1828; A. webbiana (Wall ex D. Don) Lindl. 1833; Picea webbiana (Wall ex D. Don) Loudon 1838 (5); A. chiloensis Hort.; A. chilrowensis Hort.; A. densa Griff. (4). Silba (1) describes a variety densa, while Vidakovic (4) describes a variety brevifolia."This species hybridizes freely with A. pindrow forming intermediate populations in the altitudinal middle zone of their common distribution" (4). Description"A tree attaining in the E. Himalaya a height of 60 m. Crown broadly conical. Branches horizontally spreading. Bark dark gray, rough and scaly. Shoots red-brown, deeply grooved, pubescent in the grooves. Buds large, globose, resinous. Needles on the upper side of the shoot arranged in several ranks, leaving a V-shaped depression between them, 2-6 cm long, with emarginate apex; upper surface dark green and glossy, with 2 broad stomata bands beneath. Cones cylindrical, 14-20 cm long and about 7 cm thick, violet-purple when young, later brown; seed scales 1.5-2 cm wide; bract scales concealed" (4).RangeAfghanistan: Hindu Kush; Tibet; India: Karakoram & Kashmir Himalaya; Nepal (5); Sikkim & Bhutan at 2500-4000 m (4).Big TreeOldestDendrochronologyEthnobotanyObservationsRemarks"[V]ar. brevifolia (Henry) Rehd. — needles only about 3 cm long, stomata bands gray; shoots less grooved and gray, bark smooth. Occurs in the northwest Himalaya" (4).Citations(1) Silba 1986.(2) van Gelderen et al. 1986. (3) Vidakovic 1991. (4) Jain, K.K. 1976: Introgressive hybridization in the West Himalayan silver firs. Silvae Genetica 25(3-4): 107-109. (5) Farjon 1998. |
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