''Abies cephalonica'', commonly known as Greek fir or Cephalonian Fir, is a

fir Firs are evergreen coniferous trees belonging to the genus ''Abies'' () in the family Pinaceae. There are approximately 48–65 extant species, found on mountains throughout much of North and Central America, Eurasia, and North Africa. The genu ...

native to the

mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...

s of

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, primarily in the Peloponnesos and the island of Kefallonia, intergrading with the closely related Bulgarian fir further north in the Pindus mountains of northern

. It is a medium-size

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

coniferous Conifers () are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a sin ...

tree In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, e.g., including only woody plants with secondary growth, only ...

growing to – rarely – tall and with a trunk diameter of up to . It occurs at altitudes of , on mountains with a rainfall of over . The

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

are needle-like, flattened, long and wide by thick, glossy dark green above, and with two blue-white bands of

stomata In botany, a stoma (: stomata, from Greek ''στόμα'', "mouth"), also called a stomate (: stomates), is a pore found in the epidermis of leaves, stems, and other organs, that controls the rate of gas exchange between the internal air spa ...

below. The tip of the leaf is pointed, usually fairly sharply but sometimes with a blunt tip, particularly on slow-growing shoots on older trees. The cones are long and broad, with about 150–200 scales, each scale with an exserted bract and two winged

seed In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be Sowing, sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds ...

s; they disintegrate when mature to release the seeds. It is also closely related to Nordmann fir to the east in northern

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

Uses

Greek fir was important in the past for

wood Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin t ...

for general construction, but it is too rare to be of significant value now. It is also grown as an ornamental tree in

park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

s and large

garden A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...

s, though in areas that often get late frosts it is prone to frost damage, as it is one of the first conifers to open fresh growth in spring.

Etymology

The generic name ''Abies,'' already used by the Latins, could, according to an etymological interpretation, derive from the Greek word ἄβιος ("long-lived"). The specific name ''cephalonica'' derives from the Greek ''Cephallenia'' and refers to the largest of the Ionian islands, which falls within the range of the species.

Description

Carriage

The Cephalonian fir has a conical shape, it rarely exceeds 25 m, even if it can reach 35 m. The branches are arranged in regular whorls and the small branches are shiny brown, close together and glabrous. Among the fir trees it is one of those with the thickest crown.

Leaves

They are 2-3 cm long, needle -like, prickly and bright green on the upper face; they have two silvery white streaks separated by a green vein below. They are arranged radially around the branches. File:Greek Firs on Mount Erymanthos.jpg, Greek firs on the slopes of Mount Erymanthos. File:AbiesCephalonicaTwig.jpg, Abies Cephalonica twig on Mt. Erymanthos. File:Abies cephalonica - Euboea.JPG, Abies cephalonica in Euboea.

References

External links

*
Photos of trees in Peloponnesos, Greece
(captions in Italian; "abete" = Greek Fir, "pino nero" = Black Pine)
Photo of a cone''Abies cephalonica''
Distribution map, genetic conservation units and related resources. European Forest Genetic Resources Programme (EUFORGEN) {{DEFAULTSORT:Abies cephalonica cephalonica Trees of Europe Endemic flora of Greece Cephalonia Plants described in 1838