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Spanish Fir
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Image:PinsapoCone.jpg Foliage and cone
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| Abies pinsapo Boiss. |
The Spanish fir (Abies pinsapo) is a species of fir native to southern Spain, where it is limited to altitudes of 1100-2000 m in the Sierra de Grazalema in the province of Cádiz and the Sierra de las Nieves near Ronda in the province of Málaga.
It is an evergreen tree growing to 20-30 m tall, with a conic crown, sometimes becoming irregular with age. The leaves are 1.5-2 cm long, arranged radially all round the shoots, and are strongly glaucous pale blue-green, with broad bands of whitish wax on both sides. The cones are cylindrical, 9-18 cm long, greenish-pink to purple before maturity, and smooth with the bract scales short and not exserted. When mature, they disintegrate to release the winged seeds.
A variety, the Moroccan Fir Abies pinsapo var. marocana, occurs immediately across the Straits of Gibraltar in the Rif mountains of northern Morocco, where it is confined to altitudes of 1400-2100 m on Jebel Tissouka and Jebel Tazaot. It differs in the leaves being less strongly glaucous and the cones slightly longer, 11-20 cm long.
Spanish fir is now a threatened species more than ever. In spite of environmental laws and status of Sierra de las Nieves as Natural Park and UNESCO reserve, a giant real estate development, with golf courses and hundreds of luxury houses and hotels, is going to ruin an extense area inside this reserve, consuming a huge amount of water and creating a big urban nucleus very close to fir forests.
 A Spanish Fir in Tasmanian botanical gardens |
 Foliage of a Spanish Fir |
- Conifer Specialist Group (1998). Abies pinsapo. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006.