Index / Search / Abies lasiocarpa

§1 Plant — species · Pinaceae

Abies lasiocarpa (Hook.) Nutt.

vernacular subalpine fir


USDA
ABLA
GBIF
2685313
Rank
species
subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa)
Platephotograph · Jason HeadleyCC BY-NC source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

Habit and range

Growth habit
Tree
Duration
Perennial
Group
Gymnosperm
Family
Pinaceae Spreng. ex Rudolphi
Genus
Abies
§2a

Native status, by region

  • AK Alaska Native
  • CAN Canada Native
  • L48 Lower 48 States Native

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought
Low
Shade
Low
Moisture use
Medium
Fire
Low
Salinity
None
Anaerobic
None
CaCO₃
Low
Hedging
Low
§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance
-51 °F minimum
Frost-free days
120 min.
Precipitation
20–150 in/yr
pH range
4–6.5
Root depth
40 in min.
Fertility need
Medium
Soil texture
coarse, medium
§3c

Form & growth

Growth form
Single Stem
Growth rate
Slow
Lifespan
Long
Mature height
90 ft
Height @ 20 y
15 ft
Foliage texture
Medium
Foliage colour
Green
Porosity (summer)
Dense
Porosity (winter)
Dense
Fruit colour
Brown
Fire resistant
No
N fixation
None
Toxicity
None
§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period
Late Spring
Seed abundance
Medium
Seed begins
Summer
Seed ends
Fall
Spread rate
Slow
Stratify
Yes
Seeds / lb
37,440
Propagation
seed, bare root, container
§3e

Use & availability

Commercial availability
Routinely Available
Nursery stock
Yes
Browse palatability
Low
Palatable, human
No
Protein potential
Low
Lumber
Yes
Fuelwood
Low
Christmas tree
Yes

§4Montana distribution

Recorded in 7 of 56 Montana counties.


§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.

plants.usda.gov/ABLA ↗

GBIF Backbone

Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.

gbif.org/species/2685313 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-25

fetched 2026-05-25T16:28:53Z