Drawing of the largest known grand fir, on the Duckabush River [Robert Van Pelt] (Van Pelt 1996).
The range of grand fir, based on a map presented in Van Pelt 2001.
Abies grandis
Grand, lowland, white, silver, yellow or stinking fir (Peattie 1950), sapin grandissime (Hunt 1993).
Syn: A. amabilis Murr. not Forbes, A. excelsior Franco, A. gordoniana Carr. (Vidakovic 1991), Pinus grandis Douglas ex D. Don 1832 (Hunt 1993). "Abies grandis is rather uniform morphologically and chemically. At its southern limit in southern Oregon and northern California, it introgresses with A.concolor. In the area of introgression, specimens in lower, wetter habitats are best assigned to A. grandis; those in higher, drier habitats, to A. concolor. Others are best considered to be A.concolor × grandis" (Hunt 1993).
Trees to 75 m tall and 155 cm dbh; "crown conic, in age round topped or straggly. Bark gray, thin to thick, with age becoming brown, often with reddish periderm visible in furrows bounded by hard flat ridges. Branches spreading, drooping; twigs mostly opposite, light brown, pubescent. Buds exposed, purple, green, or brown, globose, small to moderately large, resinous, apex round; basal scales short, broad, equilaterally triangular, slightly pubescent or glabrous, resinous, margins entire, apex pointed or slightly rounded. Leaves (1)2-6 cm × l.5-2.5 mm, 2-ranked, flexible, with leaves at center of branch segment longer than those near ends, or with distinct long and short leaves intermixed, proximal portion ± straight, leaves higher in tree spiraled and 1-ranked; cross section flat, grooved adaxially; odor pungent, faintly turpentinelike; abaxial surface with 5-7 stomatal rows on each side of midrib; adaxial surface light to dark lustrous green, lacking stomates or with a few stomates toward leaf apex; apex distinctly notched (rarely rounded); resin canals small, near margins and abaxial epidermal layer. Pollen cones at pollination bluish red, purple, orange, yellow, or ± green. Seed cones cylindric, (5)6-7(12) × 3-3.5 cm, light green, dark blue, deep purple, or gray, sessile, apex rounded; scales ca. 2-2.5 × 2-2.5 cm, densely pubescent; bracts included. Seeds 6-8 × 3-4 mm, body tan; wing about 1.5 times as long as body, tan with rosy tinge; cotyledons (4)5-6(7). 2n=24" (Hunt 1993).
Canada: British Columbia; USA: Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon and California at 0-1500 m in moist conifer forests (Hunt 1993). See also Thompson et al. (1999).
Largest volume: Height 77 m, dbh 185 cm, stem volume 68.3 m3 in 1988; along Duckabush River Trail, Olympic National Park, WA (Van Pelt 1996).
Largest diameter: Height 75.0 m, dbh 220 cm; along the Chilliwack River, BC (Robert Van Pelt , who measured the tree; e-mail 18-Mar-1998).
Tallest: Height 81.4 m, dbh 158 cm, stem volume 53.0 m3 in 1993; in the Glacier Peak Wilderness, WA (Van Pelt 1996).
Aho (1977) cites a ring count of 472, of which 163 rings are in the first 7.6 cm of the sample (the tree was 87.6 cm DBH and 33.5 m tall). This indicates that the tree attained an impressive age because it spent a long time as a small suppressed advance regeneration tree in the forest understory. A similar situation has been observed among the oldest individuals of Abies amabilis and Tsuga mertensiana.
Aho, P. E. 1977. Decay of grand fir. USDA Forest Service Research Paper PNW-229. Portland, OR: Pacific Northwest Forest & Range Experiment Station. 18 p.
Farjon (1990) provides a detailed account, with illustrations.
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Edited by Christopher J. Earle
Page updated on 2008.05.01
URL: http://www.conifers.org/pi/ab/grandis.htm
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