Abies squamata

Mast. (1906)

Common names

Flaky fir (Vidakovic 1991).

Taxonomic notes

No synonyms (Farjon 1998). The sole species in Section Squamatae E. Murray.

Description

"A tree up to 40 m high. Bark reddish-brown, exfoliating in thin papery layer like that of a birch, even on trees only 6 year of age. Shoots with dense brown hairs. Buds globose, red-brown, very resinous. Needles densely arranged, erect, not pectinate, linear, 1.5-2.5 cm long, rounded or acute apex, bluish green, with 2 white stomata bands on lower surface. Cones oblong-ovate, 5-6 cm long, violet when young; the tips of bract scales protruding past the seed scales, which are 1.5 cm wide" (Vidakovic 1991).

See Wu and Raven 1999 for a more current and detailed description.

Distribution and Ecology

China: W Sichuan alpine zone at 3500-4000m (Silba 1986, Vidakovic 1991); also S Qinghai; E Tibet (Farjon 1998). Hardy to Zone 6 (cold hardiness limit between -23.2°C and -17.8°C) (Bannister and Neuner 2001).

Remarkable Specimens

No data as of 2026-01-07.

Ethnobotany

No data as of 2026-01-07.

Observations

No data as of 2026-01-07.

Remarks

The epithet squamata means "scaly", referring to the bark.

Citations

Masters, M. T. 1906. Gardeners' Chronicle ser. 3, 39:299, f. 121.

See also

The species account at Threatened Conifers of the World.

Farjon, Aljos. 1990. Pinaceae: drawings and descriptions of the genera Abies, Cedrus, Pseudolarix, Keteleeria, Nothotsuga, Tsuga, Cathaya, Pseudotsuga, Larix and Picea. Königstein: Koeltz Scientific Books.
- Provides a detailed account, with illustrations.

Farjon (2010).