(Fraser Fir)

Fraser fir is a fragrant evergreen tree native to the Appalachian Mountains of the southeastern United States, from Virginia down to Georgia. Native populations grow at both high and low elevations along the mountainside. They exist in nearly pure stands at high elevations but are mixed with other conifers and hard woods at mid to lower elevations. Young trees are dense and pyramidal, which is why they are favored as Christmas trees. In fact, Frasier is only rivaled in popularity by balsam fir. Mature...

(Manchurian Fir, Needle Fir)

Large in size but not as towering as many other firs grown, needle fir has rich green foliage that thickly whorls around its twigs. Becoming a tall, pyramid-like tree with spreading branches, it is native to Manchuria and Korea and extreme southeastern Siberia's (Russia). Its youngest twigs are yellow-gray in color while its smooth bark is a purplish gray to dark sandy brown that will crack into plates once the tree is very old.

The glossy medium to dark green needles are not prickly to the touch...

(Nikko Fir)

Densely foliaged branches with glossy dark green needles makes the Nikko fir one of the most stately of fir species, although quite difficult to locate in nurseries. A tall evergreen conifer (cone-bearing) tree from Japan, it attains a spire-like shape but also becomes more pyramidal with age.

The glossy dark green needles have two white bands on their undersides. Densely lining all branches, the needles are held both horizontally and vertically, although the latter are shed earlier. New twig...

(Korean Fir)

A smaller-sized fir, Korean fir has glossy dark green needles with silvery undersides and blue-violet tinted green cones. A slow growing conifer from the southern half of the Korean peninsula, this is considered one of the more heat-tolerant fir species. It is best in cooler regions, however.

The horizontal branches of this fir tree grow slowly, and are light brown at their tips. The tree becomes a broad pyramid in shape with considerable age. The needles are soft and dark gray-green with a silvery...

(Korean Fir)

A smaller-sized fir, Korean fir has glossy dark green needles with silvery undersides and blue-violet tinted green cones. A slow growing conifer from the southern half of the Korean peninsula, this is considered one of the more heat-tolerant fir species. It is best in cooler regions, however.

The horizontal branches of this fir tree grow slowly, and are light brown at their tips. The tree becomes a broad pyramid in shape with considerable age. The needles are soft and dark gray-green with a silvery...

(Korean Fir, Silver Korean Fir)

A smaller-sized fir, Silberlocke Korean fir has upright-facing, lightly twisting needles that show off their silvery undersides. A slow growing conifer from the southern half of the Korean peninsula, this is considered one of the more heat-tolerant fir species. It is best in cooler regions, however.

The horizontal branches of this fir tree grow slowly, and are light brown at their tips. The tree becomes a broad pyramid in shape with considerable age. The twisted needles are soft and dark gray-green...

(Rocky Mountain Fir, Subalpine Fir)

Very tall and narrow in form, subalpine fir looks like a green church spire. A cone-bearing evergreen tree with green needles that have a bluish cast, it is native from the Yukon of Canada southward in the Rocky Mountains to northern Arizona and New Mexico in the United States. Its bark is gray to nearly white, smooth but mildly bumpy.

The short but flattened needles whorl around the tree's twigs. They are dark green but covered in a bluish-white film (called a bloom). In early summer, male cones...

(Subalpine Fir)

Very tall and narrow in form, subalpine fir looks like a green church spire. A cone-bearing evergreen tree with green needles that have a bluish cast, it is native from the Yukon of Canada southward in the Rocky Mountains to northern Arizona and New Mexico in the United States. Its bark is gray to nearly white, smooth but mildly bumpy.

The short but flattened needles whorl around the tree's twigs. They are dark green but covered in a bluish-white film (called a bloom). In early summer, male cones...

(Corkbark Fir)

Very tall and narrow in form, corkbark fir looks like a silvery green church spire. A cone-bearing evergreen tree with green needles that have a silver-blue cast, this natural variety of the subalpine fir is native to the southern Rocky Mountains in Arizona and New Mexico in the American Southwest. Its soft bark is gray to nearly white, smooth but mildly bumpy, and thicker than the typical subalpine fir.

The short but flattened needles whorl around the tree's twigs. They are dark green but covered...

(Compact Corkbark Fir, Corkbark Fir)

Unlike its parent, the spire-like subalpine fir, compact corkbark fir looks like a silvery green plump pyramid at maturity. A cone-bearing evergreen shrub with green needles that have a silver-blue cast, 'Compacta' was selected from trees native to the southern Rocky Mountains in Arizona and New Mexico in the American Southwest. Its rarely seen soft bark is gray to nearly white, smooth but mildly bumpy, and thicker than the typical subalpine fir.

The short but flattened needles whorl around the...