Shailendra at 01:26, 19 May 2026

2026-05-19T01:26:09Z

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{{Short description|Species of conifer}}
{{more citations needed|date=January 2019}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Abies densa Wangdicholing Palace.jpg
| image_alt = A tall tree, in backdrop of houses. The sky in the background is clear blue.
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 16 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=Zhang, D. |author2=Christian, T. |author3=Carter, G. |author4=Farjon, A. |author5=Liao, W. |author6=Yang, Y. |date=2013 |title=''Abies densa'' |volume=2013 |article-number=e.T42278A2969131 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T42278A2969131.en |access-date=16 November 2021}}</ref>
| genus = Abies
| species = densa
| authority = [[William Griffith (botanist)|Griff.]]
| synonyms = {{species list |Abies spectabilis var. densa|(Griff.) Silba
|Abies spectabilis subsp. densa|(Griff.) Silba
|Abies fabri subsp. fordei|(Rushforth) Silba
|Abies fordei|Rushforth}}
| synonyms_ref =<ref name=POWO>{{cite web |url= https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:261506-1 |title= Abies densa Griff. |author= |date=n.d. |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=The Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |access-date=May 13, 2024}}</ref>
}}

'''''Abies densa''''', the '''Bhutan fir''', is a [[conifer]] [[species]] in the [[Family (taxonomy)|family]] [[Pinaceae]]. It is sometimes included in the [[Abies spectabilis|East Himalayan fir]] (''A. spectabilis'') as a [[variety (botany)|variety]].

Found in [[Bhutan]], [[China]], [[India]], and [[Nepal]], it is not considered a [[threatened species]] by the [[IUCN]].

Also called the Himalayan alpine fir, ''Abies densa'' is a dominant conifer in the upper coniferous belt of the central and eastern Himalayas from [[Nepal]], [[Sikkim]], [[Bhutan]], and adjacent [[Tibet]] to [[Burma]] (Myanmar) in altitudes between 2800 and 3700 m. It is a tree up to 30–40 (sometimes to 60) m, with trunk diameters sometimes reaching 2.5 m. The bark is breaking to thick angular plates, the branchlets light grayish-yellow when young, later grayish-brown to gray. The needles are up to 4.5 cm long, with somewhat recurved margins. The cones are up to 10 cm long, bluish gray or dark blue to bluish brown, with bract length varying among individuals (slightly included or with more or less protruding, straight or recurving tips). Sometimes lumped with ''Abies spectabilis'', a species of more westerly distribution, ''Abies densa'' differs from the former in several traits, e.g., its leaves are shorter, narrower, somewhat recurved, and are less silvery-white below; ''Abies densa'' also has smaller cones with bracts relatively longer than in ''Abies spectabilis''.<ref>{{cite book|title=Conifers Around the World|year=2012|publisher=DendroPress|isbn=978-963-219-061-7|pages=1089|url=http://conifersaroundtheworld.com|author =Zsolt Debreczy|author2 =Istvan Racz|edition=1st|editor=Kathy Musial}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140729213223/http://conifersaroundtheworld.com/blog/abies_densa_himalayan_alpine_fir Conifers Around the World: Abies densa - Himalayan Alpine Fir].

{{Taxonbar|from=Q137033}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Abies|densa]]
[[Category:Least concern flora of Asia]]
[[Category:Trees of Bhutan]]
[[Category:Trees of China]]
[[Category:Flora of Assam (region)]]
[[Category:Trees of Nepal]]
[[Category:Flora of Tibet]]
[[Category:Taxonomy articles created by Polbot]]
[[Category:Plants described in 1854]]
[[Category:Taxa named by William Griffith (botanist)]]

{{conifer-stub}}

Abies densa - Revision history

Shailendra at 01:26, 19 May 2026