Plant Family: Pinaceae
Growth Form: Medium-sized spire-like tree, up to 20 meters in height; like other northern conifers it assumes a shrubby or prostrate form high on mountains.
Leaves: Aromatic needles 1 – 3 cm long, rounded or notched at the tip; on younger growth the needles are longer and held in a more or less two-ranked arrangement on the twigs, on older branches the needles are shorter and stiffer and may curve up from the twig; in all cases look for two white lines of stomata beneath.
Bark: Light gray, fairly smooth, with knobby resin blisters that may exude sap.
Cones: Originally green to purplish, up to 8 cm long, maturing to brown in the fall and shedding the scales, leaving only a narrow central stalk; like all Firs the cones are held upright on the branches.
Habitat: Coniferous woods, shorelines, streambanks, and mountain slopes up to the tree line; very common in the northern forest.
Range: Eastern Canada and New England west to the Great Lakes; smaller local populations occur south in the Appalachians to Virginia.
Key Features: Needles with two whitish lines beneath and the upright cones will distinguish Balsam Fir from other conifers.
Comments: The fragrant needles that persist long after it is cut make it popular as a Christmas tree. Grouse and other wildlife eat the seeds, deer and moose browse on the twigs and use the trees for cover. Balsam Fir is susceptible to attack by Spruce Budworms (Choristoneura spp.), which despite the name, prefer fir over spruce, and heavy mortality can occur in outbreak years. Balsam Fir is the provincial tree of New Brunswick.
