PINACEAE - - Pine Family

Abies fraseri (Pursh) Poiret — Fraser Fir, She Balsam, Southern Balsam

Fraser fir (Abies fraseri), also called southern balsam fir and she-balsam, is a small- to medium-size tree, usually 30 to 50 feet tall, but up to 82 feet in the high mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee. National Champion: 95 feet tall, circumference (at 4 1/2 feet) 9.59 feet. In the forest, it produces a symmetrical but noticeably tapered bole, narrow, pyramidal crown of horizontally disposed branches, and a shallow, spreading root system. It is the only fir endemic to the southern Appalachian Mountains. Because of the high elevation at which Fraser fir grows, its primary value is for watershed protection and scenic attraction. The name "fraseri" is for its discoverer, John Fraser, 1750-1811.

Separating Characteristics

The only other species of fir (Abies) in the eastern U. S. is balsam fir (A. balsamea). It is of rare occurrence in the South, being found only on the highest mountains of Virginia and West Virginia. Fraser fir can be separated from balsam fir on the basis of cone characteristics. The cones of Fraser fir are shorter, up to 2 1/2" long, whereas balsam fir cones can be up to 4" long, but the main difference is in the bracts. The yellow-green to tan bracts of the cone scales in Fraser fir are longer than their scales and are bent (reflexed) over them; and those of balsam fir are usually shorter than their scales and are not visible on closed cones.

Habitat

Moist, cool mountain slopes between elevations of 4,000' and 6,700'. Commonly associated with red spruce, yellow birch, and sugar maple.

Native Range

Fraser fir has a disjunct distribution, restricted to high elevations in the southern Appalachian Mountains of southwestern Virginia, western North Carolina, and eastern Tennessee. It has naturalized on Brasstown Bald, Ga. where planted.

The native range of Abies fraseri (Fraser fir)

Kartesz, J.T., The Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2015. North American Plant Atlas. (http://bonap.net/napa). Chapel Hill, N.C. [maps generated from Kartesz, J.T. 2015. Floristic Synthesis of North America, Version 1.0. Biota of North America Program (BONAP). (in press)].

The Georgia range of Abies fraseri (Fraser fir)

Zomlefer, W.B., J.R. Carter, & D.E. Giannasi. 2014 (and ongoing). The Atlas of Georgia Plants. University of Georgia Herbarium (Athens, Georgia) and Valdosta State University Herbarium (Valdosta, Georgia). Available at: http://www.georgiaherbaria.org/.