Guatemala fir
| Guatemala fir | ||||||||||||
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Guatemala fir ( Abies guatemalensis ) |
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| Abies guatemalensis | ||||||||||||
| Rehder |
The Guatemala fir ( Abies guatemalensis ) is a species of conifer from the genus of firs ( Abies ). It occurs in Central America and thus has the southernmost distribution area of all firs.
description
The Guatemala fir grows as an evergreen tree that can reach heights of up to 45 meters and diameters of up to 1 meter at chest height . The branches go off horizontally from the trunk. The black-brown bark is divided into plates. Branches have a red-brown to black-red, hairy bark .
The resinous buds are spherical-egg-shaped and are around 5 millimeters long. The more or less resinous, straight needles are 1.5 to 5.5 centimeters long and 1.2 to 2 millimeters wide. They are notched at the top. While the upper side of the needle is dark green, the underside of the needle is blue-green. There are eight to ten rows of stomas on the underside of the needle . The needles are arranged in a spiral on the branches.
The flowering time of the Guatemala fir extends from May to June. The ovoid-cylindrical cones are 8 to 12 inches long and 4 to 4.5 inches thick. The tip of the cones is tapered or flattened. When ripe they are yellowish brown in color and have a purple hue. The light brown seeds are about 9 millimeters long and have about 15 millimeters long wing.
Distribution and location
The natural range of the Guatemala fir extends from Mexico in the north over western Guatemala to El Salvador and the Santa Bárbaras mountains in Honduras in the south. In Mexico they can be found in the states of Chiapas , Colima , Guerrero , Jalisco , Michoacán , Nayarit , Oaxaca and Tamaulipas . Deposits probably also exist in Sinaloa . In Guatemala, the species is found in the administrative districts of Huehuetenango , Jalapa , Quetzaltenango , Quiché , San Marcos , Sololá and Totonicapán .
The species is found mainly in mountains, at altitudes from 1800 to 4083 meters. The annual rainfall is more than 1000 mm. The pH of the populated soils is between 5.4 and 5.7.
There are mainly mixed stands of the Mexican cypress ( Cupressus lusitanica ), the Mexican Weymouth pine ( Pinus ayacahuite ) and Pinus hartwegii .
Systematics
The Guatemala fir is assigned to the Grandis section within the genus of firs ( Abies ) . It was first described in 1939 by Alfred Rehder in "Journal of the Arnold Arboretum" Volume 20, page 185. Abies tacanensis Lundell is a synonym for the species .
Subspecies
The species can be divided into seven subspecies, some of which are also listed as varieties :
- Abies guatemalensis subsp. guatemalensis , the type subspecies.
- Abies guatemalensis subsp. ixtepejiensis (Silba) Silba occurs in the Mexican state of Oaxaca .
- Abies guatemalensis subsp. jaliscana (Martínez) Silba occurs in the western part of the Mexican state of Jalisco . It is also seen by some authors as an independent species: Abies jaliscana (Martínez) Mantilla, Shalisko & A.Vázquez .
- Abies guatemalensis subsp. longibracteata (Debreczy & I. Rácz) Silba occurs in the Sierra Madre del Sur in the Mexican state of Guerrero .
- Abies guatemalensis subsp. rushforthii (Silba) Silba occurs on the summit of Cerro Santa Bárbara in the Honduran department of Santa Bárbara .
- Abies guatemalensis subsp. tamaulipasensis (Silba) Silba occurs in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas .
- Abies guatemalensis subsp. zapotekensis (Debreczy, I. Rácz & G. Ramírez) Silba occurs in the Sierra de Juárez in the Mexican state of Oaxaca. A synonym is Abies zapotekensis Debreczy, I. Rácz & G. Ramírez .
use
Although the Guatemala fir is under protection in most of its range, it is often used illegally. The wood is used as construction and firewood as well as for the production of charcoal . At Christmas in particular, branches are cut from trees to use as Christmas decorations.
Hazard and protection
The Guatemala fir is listed on the IUCN Red List as "endangered". Furthermore, the subspecies jaliscana is also listed as "endangered" in the Red List. It is pointed out that a new risk check is necessary for all entries. The main endangerment factor is the overexploitation by natives, together with a low reproduction rate of the species. Furthermore, the soils populated by the species represent good arable land.
The species is also listed in Appendix 1 of the Washington Convention on the Protection of Species . Their use is prohibited in Guatemala, among others.
swell
- Christopher J. Earle: Abies guatemalensis. In: The Gymnosperm Database. Retrieved February 21, 2011 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Christopher J. Earle: Abies guatemalensis. In: The Gymnosperm Database. Retrieved February 24, 2011 .
- ↑ a b Abies guatemalensis. In: Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden, accessed February 24, 2011 .
- ↑ a b Rafaël Govaerts (Ed.): Abies. In: World Checklist of Selected Plant Families (WCSP) - The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved April 9, 2019.
- ↑ Abies guatemalensis in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2010. Posted by: Conifer Specialist Group, 1998. Retrieved on February 24 2011th
