Abies fabri is a conifer species

Species

In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 in the family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 Pinaceae

Pinaceae

Pinaceae are 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 known as Coniferales. Pinaceae are supported as monophyletic by its protein-type sieve...

. It is endemic to Sichuan

Sichuan

' , known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu...

 in western China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, occurring on the sacred mountain of Emei Shan (from where it was first described) and westward to the Gongga Shan

Gongga Shan

Mount Gongga , also known as Minya Konka, is the highest mountain in Sichuan, China. It is situated in the Daxue Shan mountain range, part of the Hengduan mountainous region...

 massif, growing at altitudes of 1,500–4,000 m.

It is a tree growing to 40 metres tall, with a trunk up to a metre in diameter, and a conical to broad columnar crown. The shoots are yellowish-brown, hairless or slightly hairy. The leaves are linear, 1.5–3 cm long and 2–2.5 mm wide, glossy dark green above, and with two white stoma

Stoma

In botany, a stoma is a pore, found in the leaf and stem epidermis that is used forgas exchange. The pore is bordered by a pair of specialized parenchyma cells known as guard cells that are responsible for regulating the size of the opening...

tal bands below; the leaf margins are slightly revolute. The cones

Conifer cone

A cone is an organ on plants in the division Pinophyta that contains the reproductive structures. The familiar woody cone is the female cone, which produces seeds. The male cones, which produce pollen, are usually herbaceous and much less conspicuous even at full maturity...

 are cylindrical, dark purple when immature, ripening purple-blue, 5–11 cm long and 3–4.5 cm wide, with slightly exserted bracts.

There are two subspecies

Subspecies

Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...

:

• Abies fabri subsp. fabri. Central and western Sichuan, in areas with heavy summer monsoon
  East Asian monsoon
  The East Asian monsoon is a monsoonal flow that carries moist air from the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean to East Asia. It affects approximately one-third of the global population, influencing the climate of Japan , the Koreas, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macau, and much of mainland China...
  
   rainfall.
• Abies fabri subsp. minensis. Northwestern Sichuan, with a slightly drier climate.

Abies fabri is closely related to Abies delavayi

Abies delavayi

Abies delavayi is a species of fir, native to Yunnan in southwest China and adjoining border areas in southeastern Tibet, far northeastern India, northern Myanmar, and far northwestern Vietnam...

and Abies forrestii

Abies forrestii

Abies forrestii is a species of conifer in the Pinaceae family.It is found only in China.-References:* Conifer Specialist Group 1998. . Downloaded on 10 July 2007....

, which replace it to the south and southwest respectively in southern Sichuan and Yunnan

Yunnan

Yunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...

, and to Abies fargesii

Abies fargesii

Abies fargesii is a species of fir, which is a conifer in the Pinaceae family.It is found only in China. It is also known as Farges' fir, after the French missionary, botanist and plant collector, Paul Guillaume Farges, 1844-1912.-References:...

, which replaces it further north in Gansu

Gansu

' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east...

.