Your Own Trees
- Conferences
- Tree Identification
- Tree Biology
- Planning
- Tree Planting
- Care and Maintenance
- Timber Management
- Forest Products
Helpful Links
- Forestry Reference Handbook
- All Publications
- Education Opportunities
- Current Research
- Newsletters
- Who To Contact
- Forestry Related Links
- Site Map
Staff
Jesse Randall
Carol Elsberry
Claudette Sandoval-Green
Last Updated:
June 6, 2012
Report Page Errors
Publications
Links
- Interactive Tree ID
- Tree ID Definitions
- Index of Iowa Trees
- History of Iowa Trees
- Tree of the Month
- How a Tree Grows
- Fall Color in Iowa
- Making Tree Mounts
- Forestry Images
- USDA PLANTS
- Cornell: Trees & Shrubs
- ISU Campus Trees
- Plant Maps
- The Science Dictionary
Disease
Insects
Balsam Fir
(Abies balsamea)
The leaves are blunt needles.
click on a county
The balsam fir is a medium-sized tree, 50 to 60 feet in height. It is native to northeast Iowa where it grows on moist slopes.
|
The leaves are blunt needles 3/4 to 1-1/2 inches long, dark green
on the upper surface to silvery white on the lower surface and spreading at
nearly right angles to the branch.
The fruit is an oblong, cylindrical cone 2 to 4 inches long, purplish
in color and growing upright on the upper branches. When ripe, the cone breaks
up into pieces, so one never finds a mature cone on the ground.
The brown bark breaks into small plates covered with scales. The young bark is often covered with pitch blister, hence the name "balsam."
Click on a thumbnail image below to view a larger picture. |
