Abies bracteata, the Santa Lucia fir or bristlecone fir, is the rarest fir in North America. It is confined to steep-sided slopes and the bottoms of rocky canyons in the Santa Lucia Mountains, in the Big Sur region on the central coast of California, United States.
Location
The species may have had a broader range in the Ice Age era, rendering it a possible paleoendemic, although some scientists say no fossil evidence of the tree has been conclusively identified. The most inland stand, from the Pacific Coast, was found in Anastasia Canyon in the vicinity of the Arroyo Seco River and Tassajara Hot Springs.
Cultivation
The tree is a popular ornamental and is found in many arboreta. It grows in an equable Mediterranean climate with considerable precipitation during the winter and very dry summers. No one has been able to introduce it successfully in the eastern United States, but numerous groves thrive in Europe.
The tallest and widest known living tree was last measured at in height with a DBH of , but the tallest and widest specimen ever recorded was tall with a DBH of .
Historical uses
Resin from the trunk was used as an incense by the early Spanish mission.
References
This article contains content from public domain United States government sources.
Further reading
External links
- CalFlora Database: Abies bracteata (Santa Lucia fir)
- Jepson Flora Project Treatment: Abies bracteata
- Interactive Distribution Map of Abies bracteata
- Photos of foliage