''Abies recurvata'' is a species of

conifer Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All ex ...

in the family

Pinaceae The Pinaceae, or pine family, are conifer trees or shrubs, including many of the well-known conifers of commercial importance such as cedars, firs, hemlocks, larches, pines and spruces. The family is included in the order Pinales, formerly know ...

. It is found only in China. ''Abies recurvata'' is a distinct fir species usually recognized by the needles on its leaders mostly recurved or reflexed. It occurs in the drier, colder northern regions of central China in

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of th ...

and Gansu provinces at elevations between 2300 and 3600 m, usually on windy cliffs or in deep river valleys. Sometimes, however, also appears in dry low scrub on exposed mountain slopes. The most typical associated

species include ''

Juniperus convallium ''Juniperus convallium'' is a species of conifer in the family Cupressaceae. It is a tree that is found only in the mountains of the Chinese provinces of Tibet, Qinghai, and Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alte ...

'', ''Juniperus formosana'' var. ''mairei'', ''Juniperus squamata'' var. ''fargesii'', ''

Juniperus tibetica ''Juniperus tibetica'', the Tibetan juniper, is a species of juniper, native to western China in southern Gansu, southeastern Qinghai, Sichuan, and Tibet Autonomous Region, where it grows at high to very high altitudes of . This species has t ...

'', ''

Picea asperata ''Picea asperata'' (dragon spruce; ) is a spruce native to western China, from eastern Qinghai, southern Gansu and southwestern Shaanxi south to western Sichuan. Description It is a medium-sized evergreen tree growing to 25–40 m tall, and w ...

'', and ''

Picea wilsonii ''Picea wilsonii'' is a species of conifer in the family Pinaceae. It is found only in China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population e ...

''. ''Abies recurvata'' is a small to medium-sized tree mostly with conical crown, occasionally reaching a height of 40 m, and a trunk diameter of . It has rather smooth gray or rusty brown bark, at first shedding in thin plates, becoming grayish-brown and detaching in thick plates. The branchlets are grayish-white or light yellow with long needles horizontally outspreading on shade branches, radially outspreading on fertile branches; often thick and recurved, green to gray above and densely set with stoma-lines, with 2 light grayish-green stomatal bands below. ''Abies recurvata'' has long ovoid or cylindrical-ovoid, gray- or purplish blue cones; the bracts are somewhat shorter than the cone-scales, included or with slightly exposed tips.

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Further reading