[Curiosities] Tree

[Mindsphere.]

 

 

The fir (Abies) is a genus that includes about 45-55 species of conifers in the Pinaceae family, spread mainly in the mountainous areas of the northern hemisphere. They are large trees with pivoting roots. The crown is a thick, shady pyramid, the bark long smooth with resin bags. The vines are smooth, and the buds are always arranged in three. It has widened acicular leaves, upside down with 2 whitish stripes of persistent stomata, changes at 6-15 years. The cones are erect, cylindrical, with the arms usually visible and inverted; the carpel scales fall to maturity with the seeds, and the erect axis remains on the vine. Seeds relatively large, triangular, with resin bags on the skin and tightly attached to the fin.

Species: Abies alba, A. nordmanniana, A. cephalonica, A. pinsapo, A. concolor, A. grandis.

 

The fir is part of the conifer family. The most famous conifers are:

tree
spruce
pin
The fir tree differs from the other species of conifers especially by the placement of the leaves which, po[CENSORED]rly, are also called needles (acicular). They have an average length of 2 cm and are arranged along the branches in the same plane, compared to other conifers in which the needles are arranged around the branches. The leaves of the fir are softer than those of other conifers whose leaves sting harder. The major difference from deciduous trees is that the fir (like most conifers, because there are exceptions - Larch) is green throughout the year.

The fir tree, like the other conifers, changes its leaves (needles) gradually throughout the year and we can observe this only by seeing the carpet of fallen needles at the stem of the fir tree.

The altitude at which the firs grow and develop is between 500 m and their spread is all over the globe, but especially in the mountainous areas of the temperate zone.

Conifers have a pivoting root, another difference from deciduous trees that have a very branched root.

Cones are not fir fruits (Gymnosperms are plants whose seeds are bare, bare, without a fruit around them), they are the inflorescences of the fir. The seeds of the fir grow in the alveoli of the cones. When the seeds are ripe, the alveoli open and the seeds can come out of the cones. Falling to the ground, they give birth to new fir trees. Fir seeds are also a source of food for birds, squirrels and other forest rodents. The cones can be male or female. Pollination is done naturally by wind.

Fir trees grow very straight and because of this fir wood is used mainly in construction, but also in the manufacture of furniture, being a fairly resistant wood.