''Abies sachalinensis'', the Sakhalin

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 ...

, is a species of

conifer 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 ...

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 Cedrus, cedars, firs, Tsuga, hemlocks, Pinyon_pine, piñons, larches, pines and spruces. The family is incl ...

. It is found in

Sakhalin Sakhalin ( rus, Сахали́н, p=səxɐˈlʲin) is an island in Northeast Asia. Its north coast lies off the southeastern coast of Khabarovsk Krai in Russia, while its southern tip lies north of the Japanese island of Hokkaido. An islan ...

island and southern

Kurils The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands are a volcanic archipelago administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the Russian Far East. The islands stretch approximately northeast from Hokkaido in Japan to Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, separating the ...

(

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

), and also in northern

Hokkaido is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own list of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō fr ...

(

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

). The first discovery by a European was by Carl Friedrich Schmidt (1832-1908), the Baltic German botanist, on the Russian island of

in 1866, but he did not introduce it to Europe. The plant was re-discovered by the English plant-collector,

Charles Maries Charles Maries (18 December 1851 – 11 October 1902) was an English botanist and plant collector who was sent by James Veitch & Sons of Chelsea, London to search for new hardy plants in Japan, China and Taiwan between 1877 and 1879; there he dis ...

in 1877 near

Aomori , officially Aomori City (, ), is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 264,945 in 136,781 households, and a population density of 321 people per squa ...

on the main

ese island of

Honshū , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the seventh-largest island in the world, and the second-most populous after the Indonesian ...

, who initially thought it to be a variety of ''

Abies veitchii ''Abies veitchii'', also known as Veitch's fir or Veitch's silver-fir, is a species of fir native to Japan from the islands of Honshū and Shikoku. It lives in moist soils in cool wet mountain forests at elevations of 1500–2800 m. It is very s ...

''.

Abies nephrolepis ''Abies nephrolepis'', commonly known as Khingan fir, is a species of fir native to northeastern China (Hebei, Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Shaanxi), North Korea, South Korea, and southeastern Russia (Amur Oblast, Jewish Autonomous Oblast, Prim ...

(khingan fir) is known to be the closest relative, which exists on the mainland just west of the range of Sakhalin fir.

Description

Grows to 30m tall with Girths up to 100 cm. The crown pyramidal, but tend to flatten out as they grow to old age. Branches are long and slender during the life time. As you move down to more northern parts of its habitat they tend to grow shorter.

hardiness zone A hardiness zone is a geographic area defined as having a certain average annual minimum temperature, a factor relevant to the survival of many plants. In some systems other statistics are included in the calculations. The original and most widely ...

of 5 (cold limit is between -23.3 Degree C and -28.8 Degree C)

Distribution

Been seen at sea level up to 1,650m in different areas, but on Sakhalin Island it sits at elevations of 800-1,100m in pure stands or in mixed forests with

Picea jezoensis ''Picea jezoensis'' (sometimes misspelled ''Picea yezoensis''), the dark-bark spruce, Ezo spruce, Yezo spruce, or Jezo spruce, is a large evergreen tree growing to 30–50 m tall and with a trunk diameter of up to 2 m. It is native to northeast ...

(Yezo spruce) and Picea glehnii around the treeline. It is also found in lower elevations with broadleaf trees including

Betula ermanii ''Betula ermanii'', or Erman's birch, is a species of birch tree belonging to the family (biology), family Betulaceae. It is an extremely variable species and can be found in Northeast China, Korea, Japan, and Russian Far East (Kuril Islands, S ...

(Erman's birch), Castanea crenulata,

Kalopanax septemlobus ''Kalopanax septemlobus'', common names castor aralia, tree aralia, and prickly castor oil tree, is a deciduous tree in the family Araliaceae, the sole species in the genus ''Kalopanax''. It is native to northeastern Asia, from Sakhalin and Japa ...

(castor aralia), and Magnolia hypoleuca.

Habitat

Cool summers, mild winters, and precipitation around 1,500mm. Half or more falls during the winter. soils tend to be well drained and moist. Does not do well in water logged soil. very shade tolerant when young, growth is slower in dense shade. It likes slightly acidic soils at a PH of around 5.

Uses

Mainly logged for the production of wood pulp for the paper industry. It is a used for cultivations in gardens and arboreta in

, Northern Europe, England, and US. Abies sachalinesis is used for dyeing/tanning, essential oils, fibers, timber, and medicine. It is also made into products such as boxes, crates, pallets, posts, stakes, fences, wall paneling, and for use in carpentry (exterior/interior). It is an important plantation species in

, while the other Abies species are not used in plantations.

Bark and needles

Bark Bark may refer to: Common meanings * Bark (botany), an outer layer of a woody plant such as a tree or stick * Bark (sound), a vocalization of some animals (which is commonly the dog) Arts and entertainment * ''Bark'' (Jefferson Airplane album), ...

is greyish white, as it grows older the bark starts to get rough to the touch. Needles cover the shoots above and on the sides similar to the ''

'', Needle length is .5 to 1.4 inches long (1.2-3.5 cm) and .04 to .05 inches wide (1-1.2mm). Soft in texture with a glossy fresh green color.

Seeds and cones

Seed cones are cylindric, from 2-3.2 inches long, and 1-1.2 inches wide. When young colors of the cones are brown to dark purple, as they mature they turn blue-black to black-brown.

Root system

Forms surface root systems because of the moist soils. When soils are very saturated the roots form a well developed tap root.

Threats

There have been no threats to this species. Old growth stands see the most pressure from logging in parts outside of

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abies sachalinensis sachalinensis Least concern plants Flora of Northeast Asia Trees of Japan Trees of Siberia Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Plants described in 1879