Manchurian Fir
Encyclopedia
Manchurian Fir also called Needle Fir, is a species of fir
native to mountainous regions of northern Korea
, southern Ussuriland
, and China
in the provinces of Heilongjiang
, Jilin
, and Liaoning
.
It is an evergreen
coniferous tree
growing to 30 m tall and 1 m in trunk diameter with a narrowly conical crown of horizontal spreading branches. The bark
is scaly and gray-brown with resin blisters. The leaves
("needles") are flattened, 2-4 cm long and 1.5-2.5 mm thick, spread at right angles from the shoot, and end in a point. They are bright green above and whitish-green below with 7-10 stoma
tal bands. The shoots are glabrous, shiny yellow-gray when young and turning gray-brown. The cones
are 12-14 cm long by 4-5 cm wide, yellow-brown, and slightly tapering with a bluntly rounded apex. The scale bracts are hidden under the cone scales. The seed
s, 8-9 mm long with a wedge-shaped wing 1.5 cm long, are released after the cones disintegrate at maturity in October.
Manchurian Fir is sometimes, but not commonly, used as an ornamental plant
.
Fir
Firs are a genus of 48–55 species of evergreen conifers in the family Pinaceae. They are found through much of North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, occurring in mountains over most of the range...
native to mountainous regions of northern Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
, southern Ussuriland
Primorsky Krai
Primorsky Krai , informally known as Primorye , is a federal subject of Russia . Primorsky means "maritime" in Russian, hence the region is sometimes referred to as Maritime Province or Maritime Territory. Its administrative center is in the city of Vladivostok...
, and China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
in the provinces of Heilongjiang
Heilongjiang
For the river known in Mandarin as Heilong Jiang, see Amur River' is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the northeastern part of the country. "Heilongjiang" literally means Black Dragon River, which is the Chinese name for the Amur. The one-character abbreviation is 黑...
, Jilin
Jilin
Jilin , is a province of the People's Republic of China located in the northeastern part of the country. Jilin borders North Korea and Russia to the east, Heilongjiang to the north, Liaoning to the south, and Inner Mongolia to the west...
, and Liaoning
Liaoning
' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the northeast of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "辽" , a name taken from the Liao River that flows through the province. "Níng" means "peace"...
.
It is an evergreen
Evergreen
In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
coniferous tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
growing to 30 m tall and 1 m in trunk diameter with a narrowly conical crown of horizontal spreading branches. The bark
Bark
Bark is the outermost layers of stems and roots of woody plants. Plants with bark include trees, woody vines and shrubs. Bark refers to all the tissues outside of the vascular cambium and is a nontechnical term. It overlays the wood and consists of the inner bark and the outer bark. The inner...
is scaly and gray-brown with resin blisters. The leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
("needles") are flattened, 2-4 cm long and 1.5-2.5 mm thick, spread at right angles from the shoot, and end in a point. They are bright green above and whitish-green below with 7-10 stoma
Stoma
In botany, a stoma is a pore, found in the leaf and stem epidermis that is used forgas exchange. The pore is bordered by a pair of specialized parenchyma cells known as guard cells that are responsible for regulating the size of the opening...
tal bands. The shoots are glabrous, shiny yellow-gray when young and turning gray-brown. The cones
Conifer cone
A cone is an organ on plants in the division Pinophyta that contains the reproductive structures. The familiar woody cone is the female cone, which produces seeds. The male cones, which produce pollen, are usually herbaceous and much less conspicuous even at full maturity...
are 12-14 cm long by 4-5 cm wide, yellow-brown, and slightly tapering with a bluntly rounded apex. The scale bracts are hidden under the cone scales. The seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s, 8-9 mm long with a wedge-shaped wing 1.5 cm long, are released after the cones disintegrate at maturity in October.
Manchurian Fir is sometimes, but not commonly, used as an ornamental plant
Ornamental plant
Ornamental plants are plants that are grown for decorative purposes in gardens and landscape design projects, as house plants, for cut flowers and specimen display...
.