Abies religiosa
Holy fir in Mexico
The Sacred Fir ( Abies religiosa ) is a plant of the genus fir (Abies ). It comes from Mexico prior to western Guatemala.
- 5.1 Notes and references
Description
Vegetative characteristics
The Holy fir grows as a medium to large evergreen tree, the trunk diameter ( DBH ) of up to 2 meters and plant height of 25 to 50 meters, achieved in some cases up to about 60 meters. It forms a straight, round trunk and a pyramidal or conical tree crown. The bark is smooth and gray - white only, later dark gray - brown, deeply fissured and broken into small plates. The bark of the branches is red - brown to purple, irregularly grooved, glabrous or slightly hairy fluffy and has circular leaf scars.
The spirally arranged on the branch, flat needles have a length of usually 15 to 30 (10 to 35) millimeters, a width of 1.2 to 1.6 mm, thickness of 0.5 millimeters and sharp peaks. The Needles are glossy dark green colored while two bluish-white Stomastreifen and at the edge are located on the bottom two narrow resin canals.
Generative features
The male cones hang more or less, have a length of 10 to 15 millimeters with red Mikrosporophylle. The female cones stand upright on a short, often curved stem. The pins have a length of 8 to 16 centimeters with a diameter 4-6 inches and have before maturity a dark purple -like color. The excessively long cone scales are greenish to purple.
The winged seeds detach from about seven to nine months after pollination. The shiny brown seeds have a length of 10 millimeters and a width of 5 mm. Brown wing having a length of 10 to 15 millimeters.
Occurrence
The natural range of Abies religiosa located in the central and south-eastern Mexico (southern Chihuahua, Colima, Guerrero, Jalisco, central Michoacán, Mé, southern Nuevo Leon, Oaxaca, Puebla, San Luis Potosi, Sinaloa, western Tamaulipas, Veracruz ), and the western Guatemala at altitudes of about 2500 to about 4000 meters, such as in the Sierra Nevada or the Sierra Madre del Sur. The Holy fir is adapted to cool and humid summers with high rainfall. Higher temperatures, such as occur at altitudes below 2000 meters, they can damage it. The tree is exposed at higher elevations sometimes in winter the snow. In Central Europe, however, the species is not hardy.
The Holy fir prefers a neutral to slightly acidic soil ( pH: 5-7). It grows on light sandy soil as well as on loamy or heavy, clayey subsoil. She also gets on well with locations of solar radiation.
Holdings of the Holy fir are sometimes mixed with the cypress Cupressus lindleyi. The Holy fir is the preferred tree for overwintering of the coming to Canada of the monarch butterfly in the Mexican state of Michoacán dar.
The diffusion of the Sacred fir in Mexico is due to deforestation and other human influences already restricted.
System
This species was first described under the name Pinus religiosa by Carl Sigismund Kunth 1817. In 1830 it was placed by Diederich Franz Leonhard von Schlechtendal and Adelbert von Chamisso in the genus Abies. Synonyms for Abies religiosa ( Kunth ) Schltdl. et Cham. are: Pinus religiosa Kunth, Picea religiosa ( Kunth ) Loudon, Pinus hirtella Kunth, Picea hirtella ( Kunth ) Loudon, Abies hirtella ( Kunth ) Lindl, Abies religiosa var hirtella ( Kunth ) Carrière, Abies glaucescens Roezl, Picea glaucescens ( Roezl. ) Gordon, Abies religiosa ( Kunth ) Schltdl. et Cham. var glaucescens ( Roezl ) Carrière, Abies religiosa var lindleyana Carrière, Abies colimensis Rushforth et Narave.
A population on the western edge of its range on Nevado de Colima in the Mexican state of Jalisco has cones with larger scales, similar to the silver fir. These are sometimes considered a separate species Abies colimensis Rushforth.
Use
The wood of the Holy fir is soft and not very durable. It is used for pulp production is used for furniture and the like. The resin is applied to the production of stains and his balms are used as a medicine or remedy. A common use of the young tree is as a Christmas tree. In Mexico, there are more and plantations of this kind
Swell
- Christopher J. Earle: Abies religiosa. In: The Gymnosperm Database. May 22, 2011, retrieved November 4, 2011 (English, Item Description, systematics and distribution ).