Fraser fir

Abies fraseri, called Fraser's fir or simply Fraser fir, is an endangered conifer found only in the Appalachian Mountains of the southeastern United States. It exists in 48 distinct populations across seven mountain regions within this range. The tree was named for Scottish botanist John Fraser (1750–1811), who collected many plant specimens there; his surname is sometimes misspelled as "Frasier," "Frazer," or "Frazier."

In the past, it was also known as "she-balsam" because resin could be "milked" from blisters on its bark, unlike the "he balsam" (red spruce). Another common name, southern balsam fir, can cause confusion with the closely related balsam fir (Abies balsamea). In fact, some botanists have treated Fraser fir as a subspecies or variety of balsam fir, and a natural hybrid between the two is sometimes recognized as Abies × phanerolepis.

This small evergreen typically reaches 10 to 15 meters (30–50 feet) tall, rarely up to 25 meters (80 feet), with a trunk diameter of 50–75 cm (20–30 inches). Its crown is conical, with straight branches that are horizontal or angled upward up to 40 degrees; the crown is dense in youth and more open with age. The bark is thin, smooth, and grayish brown, covered with resinous blisters on young trees, becoming fissured and scaly as the tree matures. The needle-like leaves are arranged spirally but twisted at the base to form two rows on each side of the twig, with few or none below. They are 10–23 mm long, flat, flexible, and rounded or slightly notched at the tips. The upper surface is dark to bluish-green, often with a small patch of stomata near the tip, while the underside has two silvery white stomatal bands. The needles have a strong fragrance similar to turpentine. The cones are erect, cylindrical, 3.5–7 cm long (rarely 8 cm), and dark purple, turning pale brown when mature. They are often resinous, with long, reflexed bract scales in green, yellow, or pale purple. The cones disintegrate 4–6 months after maturity to release winged seeds.

Fraser fir is monoecious, with male and female cones on the same tree. Cone buds usually open from mid-May to early June. Female cones grow mostly near the top of the crown and at the ends of branches, while male cones are below them but still in the upper half of the crown. Seed production can begin at 15 years old.