Silver fir

About

Silver fir, together with beech and spruce, forms the Carpathian mountain forest. In Ukraine, it mainly grows in the Carpathians, while in the plains of the southwest, it occurs only in isolated patches. It is one of the main mountain forest-forming species: silver fir forms both pure fir forests and mixed ones with beech, spruce, and other trees.

In general, silver fir grows at altitudes of 300–1700 m, mostly above 500 m, and where precipitation exceeds 1000 mm per year. In the Carpathians, fir-beech-spruce forests naturally covered the lower mountain belt up to about 1100–1250 m. The largest timber reserves, over 1200 cubic meters per hectare, have been measured specifically in the fir forests of Gorgany.

The tree reaches a height of 25–40 m, occasionally up to 60 m, with a narrow conical crown and smooth dark gray bark. Silver fir can be most easily distinguished from spruce by its needles: they are flat, blunt, 2–3 cm long, and have two white stripes on the underside; the needles are arranged on the twig in two rows, like the teeth of a comb. The needles remain on the branches for 3–5 years. Silver fir is pollinated by wind in May: small oval male cones, 5–8 mm long, sit at the top of last year's shoots, while female cones are lower down. The cones, 10–15 cm long, stand upright on the branches and, when mature, disintegrate right on the tree, so whole fir cones are almost never found on the ground—only the cores remain on the branches. The seeds are 6–8 mm long, with a long wing, and have a balsamic scent. The thickest silver fir in Poland was measured in the Bieszczady: its trunk had a circumference of 527 cm at a height of 42 m.

Silver fir is shade-tolerant and demanding of moisture in the soil and air. In Lemkivshchyna, it is called "yelyche," and in some places in the Carpathians, it is referred to as white spruce. Rare silver fir communities are included in the Green Book of Ukraine; they are protected, in particular, in the Carpathian Biosphere Reserve and the Carpathian National Nature Park.

Silver fir is not listed in the Red Book of Ukraine.

Where in the Carpathians

The map shows where naturalists recorded the species (GBIF, CC0 and CC BY records), not every place it lives. The Ukrainian Carpathians are less studied, so a blank area does not mean the species is absent.

Countries

Slovakia · Czechia · Poland · Ukraine · Romania · Hungary

Mountain ranges

Slovak Ore Mountains, Greater Fatra, Volovec Mountains, Moravian-Silesian Beskids, Strážov Mountains, Lesser Fatra, Low Tatras, Western Tatras, Belianske Tatras, Żywiec Beskids

Altitude belts

Foothills (below 600 m) · Beech forests (600–1200 m)

When to see it

From naturalists’ observations in the Carpathians (iNaturalist, research grade): the darker the cell, the more often the species is seen that month.

Protection and rules

Not listed in the Red Book of Ukraine; rare silver fir communities are in the Green Book of Ukraine.

Red Data Book of Ukraine

FAQ