Abies alba – European Silver Fir

Description

A magnificent, very large conifer that can reach more than 50 m tall, native from the Pyrenees in Spain to the Carpathians, southern Italy and northern Greece to 1800 m. It has a straight trunk with whitish bark and a pyramidal crown and dark green, needlelike leaves with white undersides. Abies alba makes a nice ornamental suited for temperate climates in USDA Zones 4 to 8. Seeds should be cold stratified for a month after sowing. The timber is fairly light and mostly used for construction and paper manufacture and the species is a prime source of essential oils.