| Abies nephrolepis | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Tree inMorton Arboretum[1] | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Gymnospermae |
| Division: | Pinophyta |
| Class: | Pinopsida |
| Order: | Pinales |
| Family: | Pinaceae |
| Genus: | Abies |
| Species: | A. nephrolepis |
| Binomial name | |
| Abies nephrolepis | |
| Synonyms[3] | |
| |
Abies nephrolepis, commonly known asKhingan fir,[4] is a species offir native to northeasternChina (Hebei,Heilongjiang,Jilin,Liaoning,Shaanxi),North Korea,South Korea, and southeasternRussia (Amur Oblast,Jewish Autonomous Oblast,Primorsky Krai, southernKhabarovsk Krai).[5][6]
It is a medium-sizedevergreenconiferoustree growing to 30 m tall with a trunk up to 1.2 m diameter and a narrow conic to columnar crown. Thebark is grey-brown, smooth on young trees, becoming fissured on old trees. Theleaves are flat needle-like, 10–30 mm long and 1.5–2 mm broad, green above, and with two dull greenish-whitestomatal bands below; they are spirally arranged, but twisted at the base to lie flattened either side of and forwards across the top of the shoots. Thecones are 4.5–7 cm (rarely to 9.5 cm) long and 2–3 cm broad, green or purplish ripening grey-brown, and often veryresinous; the tips of the bract scales are slightly exserted between the seed scales. Each seed scale bears two winged seeds, released when the cones disintegrate at maturity in the autumn.[5][6]
It is closely related toAbies sachalinensis,Abies koreana,Abies veitchii, andAbies sibirica, which replace it to the east, south, southeast, and west respectively. The range abuts that ofA. sibirica andhybrids occur where they meet; these have been named asAbies × sibirico-nephrolepis Taken. & J.J.Chien.[5]
The wood from this tree was used for pulp production during theJapanese occupation of Korea in the 1920s.[7]
