Holy fir
| Holy fir | ||||||||||||
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Sacred fir trees in Mexico |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Abies religiosa | ||||||||||||
| ( Kunth ) Schltdl. & Cham. |
The sacred fir ( Abies religiosa ) is a species of the fir ( Abies ) genus . It occurs from Mexico to western Guatemala.
description
Vegetative characteristics
The sacred fir grows as a medium-sized to large evergreen tree , the trunk diameter ( BHD ) of up to 2 meters and heights of 25 to 50 meters, in individual cases up to over 60 meters. It forms a straight, round trunk and a pyramidal or conical tree crown . The bark is smooth and gray-white at first, later dark gray-brown, deeply fissured and breaks into narrow plates. The bark of the twigs is red-brown to purple-red, irregularly grooved, glabrous or slightly downy, and has circular leaf scars.
The flat needles , which are spirally arranged on the branch, are usually 15 to 30 (10 to 35) millimeters long, 1.2 to 1.6 millimeters wide, 0.5 millimeters thick and have sharp points. The top of the needle is glossy dark green in color, while two bluish-white stomas are streaked on the underside and two narrow resin channels are located on the edge.
Generative characteristics
The male cones hang more or less, have a length of 10 to 15 millimeters with red microsporophylls . The female cones stand upright on a short, often curved stalk. The cones have a length of 8 to 16 centimeters with a diameter of 4 to 6 centimeters and have a dark purple-like color before ripening. The moderately long cone scales are greenish to purple.
The winged seeds peel off about seven to nine months after pollination. The shiny brown seeds have a length of 10 millimeters and a width of 5 millimeters. The brown wings are 10 to 15 millimeters long.
Occurrence
The natural range of Abies religiosa is in central and southeastern Mexico (southern Chihuahua, Colima, Guerrero, Jalisco, central Michoacán, Mé, southern Nuevo León, Oaxaca, Puebla, San Luis Potosí, Sinaloa, western Tamaulipas, Veracruz), as well as in the western Guatemala at altitudes of about 2500 to a little over 4000 meters, such as in the Sierra Nevada or the Sierra Madre del Sur . The Holy Fir is adapted to cool and humid summers with high levels of rainfall. On the other hand, higher temperatures, such as those that occur in locations below 2000 meters, can damage them. At higher altitudes, the tree is sometimes exposed to snow in winter. In Central Europe, however, the species is not winter hardy.
The Holy Fir prefers a neutral to slightly acidic soil ( pH value : 5–7). It grows on light sandy soil as well as on loamy or heavy, clayey subsoil. It also copes well with locations with different levels of solar radiation.
Stands of the holy fir are sometimes mixed with the cypress species Cupressus lindleyi . In the Mexican state of Michoacán, the holy fir is the preferred tree for wintering the monarch butterfly , which comes from Canada .
The spread of the sacred fir in Mexico is already limited due to deforestation and other human influences.
Systematics
This species was first described by Carl Sigismund Kunth in 1817 under the name Pinus religiosa . In 1830 it was classified in the Abies genus by Diederich Franz Leonhard von Schlechtendal and Adelbert von Chamisso . Synonyms for Abies religiosa (Kunth) Schltdl. & Cham. are Pinus religiosa Kunth and Picea religiosa (Kunth) Loudon .
Two subspecies can be distinguished:
- Abies religiosa subsp. mexicana (Martínez) Strandby, KIChr. & M.Sørensen (Syn .: Abies mexicana Martínez , Abies vejarii subsp. Mexicana (Martínez) Farjon ): It occurs in southeastern Coahuila and in Nuevo León. It is listed in the Red List under the name Abies vejarii subsp. mexicana listed as "endangered". Their small area of distribution is considered the main endangerment factor. It is pointed out, however, that a new check of the risk is necessary when making the entry.
- Abies religiosa subsp. religiosa (Syn .: Pinus hirtella Kunth , Picea hirtella (Kunth) Loudon , Abies hirtella (Kunth) Lindl. , Abies glaucescens Roezl , Picea glaucescens (Roezl) Gordon , Abies religiosa var. glaucescens Carrière , Abies religiosa var. lindleyana Carrière , Abies colimensis Rushforth & Narave , Abies religiosa var. hirtella (Kunth) Carrière , Abies religiosa var. glaucescens (Roezl) Carrière ): It occurs from Mexico to western Guatemala.
A population on the western edge of the range on Nevado de Colima in the Mexican state of Jalisco has cones with larger scales, similar to the silver fir . These are considered by some authors as a separate species of Abies colimensis Rushforth & Narave .
use
The wood of the Holy Fir is soft and not very durable. It is used for pulp production, furniture and the like. The resin is used in the production of paints and its balms are used as medicines or remedies . A common use of the young tree is as a Christmas tree . There are more plantations of this type in Mexico.
swell
- Christopher J. Earle: Abies religiosa. In: The Gymnosperm Database. May 22, 2011, accessed on November 4, 2011 (English, Section Description, Systematics and Distribution).
Individual evidence
- ↑ Hubertus Nimsch: Experiences with Abies species in southwest Germany (= communications of the German Dendrological Society . Volume 90 ). 2005, ISBN 3-8001-8325-0 , pp. 89–119 ( hubertus-nimsch.de [PDF; 180 kB ; accessed on November 4, 2011]).
- ↑ Pilar Huante, Emmanuel Rincon, Thomas W. Swetnam: Dendrochronology of Abies religiosa in Michoacan, Mexico . In: Tree Ring Bulletin . tape 51 , 1991, pp. 15–28 (English, arizona.edu [PDF; accessed November 4, 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 vejarii var. Mexicana in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2010. Posted by: Conifer Specialist Group, 1998. Accessed 28 March 2011.
Supplementary literature
- Uffe Strandby, Knud Ib Christensen, Marten Sørensen: A morphometric study of the Abies religiosa – hickelii – guatemalensis complex (Pinaceae) in Guatemala and Mexico . In: Plant Systematics and Evolution . tape 280 , 2009, p. 59–76 , doi : 10.1007 / s00606-009-0164-x (English).
- George Usher: A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man . Hafner Press, New York 1974, ISBN 0-02-853800-5 .
- T'ang-jui Liu: A monograph of the genus Abies . Dept. of Forestry, College of Agriculture, National Taiwan University, Taipei 1971.
Web links
- Abies religiosa. In: Germplasm Resources Information Network - (GRIN). USDA, accessed November 4, 2011 .
- Abies religiosa. In: Plants For A Future. Retrieved November 4, 2011 .
- Burkhard Witt: Abies religiosa. Arboretum de Villardebelle, March 3, 2009, accessed November 4, 2011 (English, images).
- Abies religiosa in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008. Posted by: Conifer Specialist Group, 1998. Retrieved on June 16 of 2009.