Balsam fir?editor: The picture on page 27 of the Winter 2008 edition of American Forests American Forests is a nonprofit conservation organization that promotes healthy forests and urban tree planting.The organization was established in 1875 as the American Forestry Association, by physician/horticulturist John Aston Warder and a group of like-minded citizens sure doesn't look like a balsam fir balsam fir, common name for the evergreen tree Abies balsamea of NE North American boreal forests. It has small needles and cones and is used for lumber. . Notice the sharp needles as contrasted with the real balsam fir on page 28. I believe this seedling is a red spruce red spruce: see spruce. or possibly a black spruce. The trees on page 26 look more like spruce than balsam fir but I have never seen a forest site like this outside of Maine. These trees would probably be black spruce in Maine. However, I believe in the adage that "An expert isn't an expert very far from home," so possibly these trees are balsam fir after all. Editor's response: We checked with Amy Cimarolli of The Nature Conservancy in West Virginia. While the photos on pp 28 and 29 do show balsam fir, the stand on p26, part of the conifer conifer (kŏn`ĭfûr) [Lat.,=cone-bearing], tree or shrub of the order Coniferales, e.g., the pine, monkey-puzzle tree, cypress, and sequoia. Most conifers bear cones and most are evergreens, though a few, such as the larch, are deciduous. -hardwood seepage swamp forest, appears to be primarily red spruce (there are fir adjacent to them). The seedling is a red spruce. Fred A. Huntress Jr. Poland Spring, Maine |
|
||||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion