Balsam Fir vs Fraser Fir
This guide is under construction and has not been published yet. It may have errors. When in doubt, double-check other sources for definitive ID.These two species are closely-related. They look similar at a glance, but can be distinguished by close examination of the bracts of mature cones, and with 10x magnification or greater, the rows of stomata on the lower leaf surface. There is some subjectivity in how to classify Abies populations as either A. balsamea or A. fraseri, see below. It may not be possible to identify all individuals to one species. Planted trees of both species can be found outside their normal range, and can sometimes escape cultivation and establish in the wild.
Balsam Fir (Abies balsamea) | Fraser Fir (Abies fraseri) |
An evergreen conifer native to North America, and a late-successional species found in areas that have not been disturbed recently. The only fir found in the northeast. | A conifer limited to late successional stages of forests at high elevations in the southern Appalachians; endangered due to a variety of factors. |
 Bracts on mature cones are either shorter than the scales. On some cones, bracts may not be visible at all until cones open; on others they may only extend slightly beyond the scales, typically oriented outward and/or upward. Photo © Ian Manning, CC BY 4.0. |  Bracts on mature cones are distinctly longer than the cone scales, extend well beyond them, and are curved downward. Photo © Alan Weakley, Public Domain. |
 At a distance, cones are characterized by a mostly-unbroken, uncovered surface of cone scales with, at most a slight poking through of bracts. This effect makes the cones look smoother and narrower. Photo © Ian Manning, CC BY 4.0. |  At a distance, cones are characterized by visible bracts, forming a broken surface slightly larger than the surface of the cone scales hidden underneath. Photo © Scott Morris, CC BY 4.0. |
 Lower surface of leaves usually has 7 rows of stomata on each side of the midvein. Rarely, leaves may have as few as 4 or as many as 8 such rows. Photo © Douglas Goldman, CC BY-SA 4.0. | Lower surface of leaves usually has 10 rows of stomata on each side of the midvein. Rarely, leaves may have as few as 8 or as many as 12 such rows. |
Additional Notes
There are more differences between these species, on average, but due to the southernmost populations of A. balsamea having traits similar to A. fraseri, they may not be reliable for ID in the regions where these species are likely to overlap.Different authorities have alternately treated these two species differently. Some authorities have proposed a hybrid species, which they call Abies intermedia. In the treatment we follow, this is called Abies balsamea var. phanerolepis, and would be identified by the guide above to be Abies balsamea. BONAP does not show any range overlap, considering the two species distinct based on range and lumping northern VA and WV populations in with A. balsamea. FSUS notes that the greatest discontinuity of traits occurs between southern and northern Virginia, and notes that the greatest gradual variability occurs in Abies balsamea var. phanerolepis.
References & External Resources
These short lists show only links helpful for ID. For a complete list of references and resources also covering other aspects of ecology, visit the links section of the full article on each plant, which is the first entry here.
