Greek Fir
Encyclopedia
Greek Fir is a fir
native to the mountain
s of Greece
, primarily in the Peloponnesos and the island of Kefallonia, intergrading with the closely related Bulgarian Fir
further north in the Pindus
mountains of northern Greece. It is a medium-size evergreen
coniferous
tree
growing to 25–35 m (82–114.8 ) – rarely 40 m (131.2 ft) – tall and with a trunk diameter of up to 1 m (3.3 ft). It occurs at altitudes of 900 metre, on mountains with a rainfall of over 1000 millimetres (39.4 in).
The leaves
are needle-like, flattened, 1.5–3 cm (0.590551181102362–1.2 ) long and 2 mm (0.078740157480315 in) wide by 0.5 mm (0.0196850393700787 in) thick, glossy dark green above, and with two blue-white bands of stomata below. The tip of the leaf is pointed, usually fairly sharply but sometimes with a blunt tip, particularly on slow-growing shoots on older trees. The cones
are 10–20 cm (3.9–7.9 ) long and 4 cm (1.6 in) broad, with about 150–200 scales, each scale with an exserted bract and two winged seed
s; they disintegrate when mature to release the seeds.
It is also closely related to Nordmann Fir
to the east in northern Turkey
.
for general construction, but it is too rare to be of significant value now. It is also grown as an ornamental tree in park
s and large garden
s, though in areas that often get late frosts it is prone to frost damage, as it is one of the first conifers to come to leaf in spring.
Fir
Firs are a genus of 48–55 species of evergreen conifers in the family Pinaceae. They are found through much of North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, occurring in mountains over most of the range...
native to the mountain
Mountain
Image:Himalaya_annotated.jpg|thumb|right|The Himalayan mountain range with Mount Everestrect 58 14 160 49 Chomo Lonzorect 200 28 335 52 Makalurect 378 24 566 45 Mount Everestrect 188 581 920 656 Tibetan Plateaurect 250 406 340 427 Rong River...
s of Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, primarily in the Peloponnesos and the island of Kefallonia, intergrading with the closely related Bulgarian Fir
Bulgarian Fir
Abies borisii-regis is a species of fir native to the mountains of the Balkan Peninsula, in Bulgaria, northern Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Albania and Serbia...
further north in the Pindus
Pindus
The Pindus mountain range is located in northern Greece and southern Albania. It is roughly 160 km long, with a maximum elevation of 2637 m . Because it runs along the border of Thessaly and Epirus, the Pindus range is often called the "spine of Greece"...
mountains of northern Greece. It is a medium-size evergreen
Evergreen
In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
coniferous
Pinophyta
The conifers, division Pinophyta, also known as division Coniferophyta or Coniferae, are one of 13 or 14 division level taxa within the Kingdom Plantae. Pinophytes are gymnosperms. They are cone-bearing seed plants with vascular tissue; all extant conifers are woody plants, the great majority being...
tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
growing to 25–35 m (82–114.8 ) – rarely 40 m (131.2 ft) – tall and with a trunk diameter of up to 1 m (3.3 ft). It occurs at altitudes of 900 metre, on mountains with a rainfall of over 1000 millimetres (39.4 in).
The leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
are needle-like, flattened, 1.5–3 cm (0.590551181102362–1.2 ) long and 2 mm (0.078740157480315 in) wide by 0.5 mm (0.0196850393700787 in) thick, glossy dark green above, and with two blue-white bands of stomata below. The tip of the leaf is pointed, usually fairly sharply but sometimes with a blunt tip, particularly on slow-growing shoots on older trees. 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 10–20 cm (3.9–7.9 ) long and 4 cm (1.6 in) broad, with about 150–200 scales, each scale with an exserted bract and two winged seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s; they disintegrate when mature to release the seeds.
It is also closely related to Nordmann Fir
Nordmann Fir
Nordmann Fir is a fir native to the mountains south and east of the Black Sea, in Turkey, Georgia, Russian Caucasus and northern parts of Armenia. It occurs at altitudes of 900-2,200 m on mountains with a rainfall of over 1,000 mm.It is a large evergreen coniferous tree growing to 60 m tall...
to the east in northern Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
.
Uses
Greek Fir was important in the past for woodWood
Wood is a hard, fibrous tissue found in many trees. It has been used for hundreds of thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction material. It is an organic material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression...
for general construction, but it is too rare to be of significant value now. It is also grown as an ornamental tree in park
Park
A park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas. Many parks are legally protected by...
s and large garden
Garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential garden, but the term garden has...
s, though in areas that often get late frosts it is prone to frost damage, as it is one of the first conifers to come to leaf in spring.
External links
- Photos of trees in Peloponnesos, Greece (captions in ItalianItalian languageItalian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
; "abete" = Greek Fir, "pino nero" = Black PineEuropean Black PinePinus nigra, the European Black Pine, is a moderately variable species of pine, occurring across southern Mediterranean Europe from Spain to the Crimea, in Asia Minor and on Cyprus, and in the high mountains of the Maghreb in North Africa....
) - Photo of a cone
