Sakhalin fir

Sakhalin fir — Abies sachalinensis (Friedr. Schmidt) Mast.

Grows on the island part of the Russian Far East (Sakhalin and the Southern Kurils) and in Japan (Hokkaido Island). It usually occurs as an admixture in mountain forests dominated by Ayan spruce, from sea level to 800—1100 m. Sometimes it forms pure stands. In the lower mountain belt it grows together with many broad-leaved species. In youth it grows faster than other firs.

Tree up to 40 m tall with a trunk up to 70 cm in diameter, having a dense, sharply conical crown. Bark smooth, gray, on old trunks longitudinally fissured, with numerous resin blisters. Young shoots light brown or reddish-brown, sparsely pubescent along the grooves with long pale hairs; older shoots dark brown with noticeable yellowish or orange leaf scars. Buds small, ovate-elliptic, greenish-violet, densely resinous. Needles dense, arranged radially. Cones cylindrical, 6—8 cm long, 2.5—3 mm thick, at first olive-green, at maturity bluish-black or dark brown. Seeds obconic with a fan-shaped or trapezoid wing. Pollination occurs in late May — June. Seeds ripen in September — October.

Distinguished by rapid growth; requires high air and soil moisture. Frost-hardy and resistant to diseases. Propagated by seed. A valuable species for landscaping that can be planted singly, in groups, in alleys, or in masses.

Has a variety that is sometimes treated as a separate species:

Mayr's fir — Abies mayriana Miyabe et Kudo. (A. sachalinensis var. mayriana Miyabe et Kudo)

Native to the Far East, East Asia. Grows in mountains together with coniferous and broad-leaved species under the same ecological conditions as Sakhalin fir.

Differs in the size and shape of the bract scales of mature cones, which protrude strongly beyond the seeds and are turned outward. Cultural characteristics and uses are the same. Introduced into cultivation later, but in cultivation (as in nature) it is not clearly distinguished and is often mixed with Sakhalin fir.

Ornamental. Shade-tolerant. Grows better on fertile soils. Winter-hardy. Not damaged by pests. Cultivated in Japan since 1929. Propagated by seed. Recommended for parks and landscape parks in various types of plantings: in groups, singly, or in alleys.