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abies

Mill.

Firs

Pinaceae

Abies

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Accepted Species

Section Abies
alba Mill. Silver fir
borisii-regis King Boris fir
bornmuelleriana Turkish fir
bornmuelleriana ssp. equi-trojani Phil Crim Trojan fir
bornmuelleriana ssp. olcayana Chataldag fir
cephalonica Greek fir
cilicica Cilician fir
cilicica ssp. isaurica Isaurian fir
nebrodensis Sicilian fir
nordmanniana Nordmann fir
numidica Algerian fir
pinsapo Spanish fir
pinsapo ssp. marocana Moroccan fir
pinsapo ssp. marocana var. tazaotana Mt. Tazaot fir
× insignis French fir
× vilmorinii Vilmorin fir
Section Amabilis
amabilis Pacific silver fir
mariesii Oshirabiso fir
Section Balsamea
balsamea Balsam fir
balsamea var. phanerolepis Canaan fir
fraseri Fraser fir
gracilis Kamchatka fir
koreana Korean fir
(koreana × lasiocarpa) Koreocarpa fir
lasiocarpa Subalpine fir
lasiocarpa var. arizonica Corkbark fir
lasiocarpa var. bifolia Rocky Mountain fir
nephrolepis Manchurian fir
sachalinensis Sakhalin fir
sachalinensis var. mayriana Mayr's Sakhalin fir
semenovii Tianshan fir
sibirica Siberian fir
veitchii Veitch's fir
veitchii var. sikokiana Shikoku fir
× arnoldiana Arnold fir
Section Pseudopicea
beshanzuensis Baishan fir
chensiana River fir
delavayi Delavay's fir
densa Bhutan fir
ernestii Wilson's fir
fabri Faber's fir
fabri ssp. minensis Longleaf Faber's fir
fanjingshanensis Fanjingshan fir
fansipanensis Fansipan fir
fargesii Farges fir
fargesii var. faxoniana Faxon's fir
fargesii var. sutchuenense Kansu fir
faxoniana Minjiang fir
ferreana Zhongdian fir
firma Momi fir
forrestii Forrest's fir
gamblei Himalayan alpine fir
georgei Rusty fir
holophylla Needle fir
homolepis Nikko fir
kawakamii Taiwan fir
mutuoensis Mutuo fir
nukiangensis Nukiang fir
pindrow West Himalayan fir
recurvata Min fir
salouenensis Salween fir
spectabilis East Himalayan fir
squamata Flaky fir
× chengii Cheng's fir
× umbellata Dimplecone fir
yuanbaoshanensis Yuanbaoshan fir
ziyuanensis Zhihuan fir
Section Bracteata
bracteata Bristlecone fir
Section Grandis
colimensis Colima fir
concolor White fir
concolor var. lowiana Sierra white fir
durangensis Durango fir
durangensis var. coahuilensis Coahuila fir
flinckii Jalisco fir
grandis Grand fir
guatemalensis Guatemalan fir
hickelii Oaxacan fir
hickelii var. macrocarpa Bigcone Oaxacan fir
hidalgensis Hidalgo fir
jaliscana Jalisco fir
religiosa Sacred fir
vejarii Vejar's fir
vejarii var. macrocarpa Bigcone Vejar's fir
Section Nobilis
magnifica California red fir
magnifica var. critchfieldii Critchfield's red fir
procera Noble fir
× shastensis Shasta fir

Justifications for the Treatment of Abies

Infra-Abies delineations follow the combined nuclear, plastid, and morphological study of Xiang et al. (2018). Section-level classifications follow more targeted studies.

Section Abies

The Eastern Mediterranean Complex: The taxa A. bornmuelleriana and A. equi-trojani are frequently considered to be synonymous with the latter as the accepted name, but there is evidence that they are distinct taxa. Handel-Mazzetti named them at the same time in 1925 from distinct geographical regions; therefore my classification here treating A. equi-trojani as a subordinate taxon follows the genetic data in Hrivnak et al. (2017) establishing it as a recent offshoot of A. bornmuelleriana. Coode and Cullen (1965) also considered these taxa to be distinct, and at the species level. Hrivnak et al. (2017) also provide evidence that A. x olcayana (putative A. bornmuelleriana x A. equi-trojani) is not a hybrid, but a recent evolutionary offshoot within A. bornmuelleriana s.l., much like A. equi-trojani. I adopt this treatment here, since it is clearly a distinct regional/ecological form worthy of conservation. Hrivnak et al. (2017) establish a close relationship between the above taxa and A. nordmanniana. They are maintained at the species level here to capture their variation, but there appears to be an argument for including them as subordinate subspecies/varieties under A. nordmanniana. Hrivnak et al. (2017) provide strong supporting data for Abies cilicica and Abies cilicica ssp. isaurica. The latter is quite rare and of major conservation concern. It is in North America, but it would be cool to acquire new genetics.

The Balkans Complex:

The taxa Abies alba, Abies cephalonica, and their putative hybrid A. borisii-regis are present in the Balkans, the latter as a putative stabilized hybrid. Krajmerova et al. (2016) provides data indicating that A. borisii-regis is a product of recent introgression resulting from contact between these two species, and is not a monophyletic stabilized hybrid species but rather a variable and complex hybrid swarm. Bella et al. (2015) also provide data showing that A. borisii-regis is genetically intermediate. Needle volatiles share the same tendency: clustering by species with A. borisii-regis intermediate (Nikolic et al. 2021). Despite its variable nature and hybrid origin, I record the name as A. borisii-regis here since it generally behaves as a stabilized hybrid species.