Spanish Fir

The Spanish fir (Abies pinsapo) is a species of fir native to southern Spain, where it is limited to altitudes of 1100-2000 m in the Sierra de Grazalema in the province of Cádiz and the Sierra de las Nieves near Ronda in the province of Málaga.

It is an evergreen tree growing to 20-30 m tall, with a conic crown, sometimes becoming irregular with age. The leaves are 1.5-2 cm long, arranged radially all round the shoots, and are strongly glaucous pale blue-green, with broad bands of whitish wax on both sides. The cones are cylindrical, 9-18 cm long, greenish-pink to purple before maturity, and smooth with the bract scales short and not exserted. When mature, they disintegrate to release the winged seeds.

A variety, the Moroccan Fir Abies pinsapo var. marocana, occurs immediately across the Straits of Gibraltar in the Rif mountains of northern Morocco, where it is confined to altitudes of 1400-2100 m on Jebel Tissouka and Jebel Tazaot . It differs in the leaves being less strongly glaucous and the cones slightly longer, 11-20 cm long.