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Scientific name: Abies sibirica Ledeb. 1833
Synonyms: Abies krylovii Golub, Abies pichta J.Forbes, Abies sibirica subsp. sibirica, Picea pichta (J.Forbes) Loudon, Picea sibirica Gordon, Pinus picea Pall., Pinus pichta (J.Forbes) Fisch. ex Endl., Pinus sibirica (Ledeb.) Turcz.
Infraspecific taxa: Abies sibirica subsp. semenovii (B.Fedtsch.) Farjon 1990
Common names: Siberian fir (English), Pichta Sibirskaya (Russia)
Tree to 30(-40) m tall, with slender trunk to 0.6(-1) m in diameter. Bark very gray, cracking into flakes and then plates with age. Branchlets thinly short hairy at first, scarcely to strongly grooved. Buds 2-4(-4.5) mm long, heavily white-resinous. Needles arranged to the sides and above the twigs, directed exclusively upward on high branches, (1-)1.5-2.5(-5) cm long, shiny bright green above, the tips shallowly notched or rounded on lower branches to pointed on those bearing seed cones. Individual needles flattened to plump in cross section and with a resin canal on either side just inside the lower epidermis or deep within the leaf, without stomates above or with a few short lines of stomates near the tip and with four to seven lines in each dull light green stomatal band beneath. Pollen cones about 15 mm long, red. Seed cones elongate egg-shaped, 5-8(-10) cm long, 2-4 cm across, deep purple when young, maturing light reddish brown. Bracts only about a third as long as the seed scales and hidden by them. Persistent cone axis narrowly conical. Seed body 5-6 mm long, the wing up to twice as long. Cotyledons four or five.
Northern and central Eurasia from northeastern European Russia and the southern Ural Mountains across Siberia (hence the species name) north of the Chinese and Mongolian border region to the Uda and Amur Rivers and central Heilongjiang province (China), with an outlier in the Tian Shan (Kyrgyzstan). Forming pure stands or mixed with other boreal (taiga) and montane forest conifers and hardwoods; 0-2,000(-2,800) m.
Conservation Status
Red List Category & Criteria: Least Concern
The vast range and limited current logging suggests that currently this subspecies is Least Concern.
The 'typical' subspecies of Siberian fir (Abies sibirica) is widespread across the Siberian taiga, where it occurs from near sea level on the northern plains to 2,000 m asl in the mountains. It remains well south of the arctic tree limit in Siberia, in fact it is more common in W Siberia and the Altai Mountains, which have a less severe climate. The soils are usually of alluvial origin, podzolic, and in the mountains also calcareous, well drained and free of permafrost. The climate is cold continental, but not extreme in most parts of the range of the species. There are pure forests, but more often it is mixed with other conifers, e.g. Picea obovata, Larix gmelinii, in the mountains also Larix sibirica and Pinus sibirica; common broad-leaved trees or shrubs are Betula pendula, Populus tremula, Sorbus aucuparia and Viburnum opulus. In the southwestern part of its range other broad leaved trees are mixed in: Tilia cordata, Ulmus scabra, and Acer platanoides.
Logging could cause a decline but current evidence suggest that this is not a serious threat at present. Air pollution from mining and other industrial activities will affect this subspecies in parts of its range.
The Siberian fir is an economically important timber tree. Its wood is used in light-frame construction and for pulpwood. Planted in regions with mild winters it can be damaged by 'late' frost; it is also intolerant of air pollution. In Central and E Europe it has been introduced as an amenity tree and several 'forms' and cultivars are known.
This species is known from several protected areas although the vast majority of the population occurs outside of those areas.
Abies sibirica ’Alba’ Abies sibirica ’Ardo’ Abies sibirica ’Austerlitz’ Abies sibirica ’Baikal’ Abies sibirica ’Baltika’ Abies sibirica ’Candelabrum’ Abies sibirica ’Clayton Berg’ Abies sibirica ’Columnaris’ Abies sibirica ’Compacta glauca’ Abies sibirica ’Elegans’ Abies sibirica ’Epiktetov’ Abies sibirica ’Glauca’ Abies sibirica ’Glotov’ Abies sibirica ’Gorno Altaisk’ Abies sibirica ’Gubino’ Abies sibirica ’Hoyt’ Abies sibirica ’Irēna’ Abies sibirica ’Jeri’ Abies sibirica ’Jörg’ Abies sibirica ’Kalmisto’ Abies sibirica ’Kalinovskiy’ Abies sibirica ’Katerina’ Abies sibirica ’Katuscha’ Abies sibirica ’Kolář Hexe’ Abies sibirica ’Liptovsky Hrádok’ Abies sibirica ’Lukasz’ Abies sibirica ’Mischa’ Abies sibirica ’Monstrosa’ Abies sibirica ’Nana’ Abies sibirica ’Nordlicht’ Abies sibirica ’Parvula’ Abies sibirica ’Pendula’ Abies sibirica ’Pumila’ Abies sibirica ’Pyramidalis’ Abies sibirica ’Räpina’ Abies sibirica ’Sascha’ Abies sibirica ’Serko’ Abies sibirica ’Shutkin’ Abies sibirica ’Siberian Beauty’ Abies sibirica ’Suncrest’ Abies sibirica ’Syktyvkar’ Abies sibirica ’Tālis’ Abies sibirica ’Taiga’ Abies sibirica ’Tavda’ Abies sibirica ’Trifonov’ Abies sibirica ’Variegata’ Abies sibirica ’Vietalva’ Abies sibirica ’Viridis’ Abies sibirica ’Wiry’
Copyright © Aljos Farjon, James E. Eckenwalder, IUCN, Conifers Garden. All rights reserved.
