Woody > Abies > Abies hickelii > Abies hickelii
Abies hickelii
Mike's
Opinion
"
This is a good looking tree that fascinates me. I would own one, but it cannot grow in Canada's climates. I think it is an aesthetically pleasing tree with purple cones and its pyramidal shape, but all around it isn't really anything major, just nice and basic-- how I like it.
Michael Pascoe, NDP., ODH., CLT., MSc. (Plant Conservation)
"
| Family |
| Pinaceae |
| Genus |
| Abies |
| Species |
| hickelii |
| Category |
| Woody |
| Type |
| Tree (evergreen) |
| USDA Hardiness Zone |
| 8 |
| Canadian Hardiness Zone |
| 8b |
| RHS Hardiness Zone |
| H5 |
| Temperature (°C) |
| (-12.1) - (-6.7) |
| Temperature (°F) |
| 10.2 - 19.9 |
| Height |
| 30 m |
| Spread |
| 7m |
Photographs
Cultivars
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Description and Growing Information
Flowering Period
| General Description |
| This tree is not dense with foliage it is pretty open. It is a pyramidal form, and shiny light green needles. |
| Cultivation |
| You need a subtropical climate and volcanic soil to plant this tree. This tree is not tolerant to urban conditions. It needs to also have a 5.5 to 7 pH in the soil to grow. |
| Shape |
| This tree at early stages keeps broad upright pyramidal until mature growth. |
| Growth |
| Medium |
| ID Characteristic |
| Seed cones in early stages are purple. The pollen cones are yellow with red microsporophylls. Cones stand erect on tree branches. |
| Habitat |
| This tree is found in South Mexico at very high elevations up to 2500 m - 3000 m in subtropical environments. Soils are found with traces of volcanic origins. The climate is cool and moist and rainy in the winters. |
| Bark/Stem Description |
| The bark is greyish in colour and starts off smooth. When the tree matures it thickens and breaks up into quadrangular plates. |
| Flower/Leaf Bud Description |
| The leaf bud starts off being wrapped in a thin orange liner. When it gets bigger it breaks through and it turns into lime green cone shape with tiny needles. |
| Leaf Description |
| The needles can grow from 18-35 mm long and 1-1.8 mm wide. Shiny, light green in colour. Needles face the sun when in direct sunlight, and the needles in the shade are spirally arranged. The needles are flat and look like a double edge sword blade with a point at the top. |
| Flower Description |
| The pollen cones are made off of lateral shoots. These are short yellow, cone shaped with red microsporophylls. |
| Fruit Description |
| Seed cones are produced by lateral shoots. These are short erect oblong-cylindrical with a round apex. The length of them is 6-8 cm and the width is 2.5 to 3.5 cm. It starts off purple and after ripening it turns dark brown. |
| Colour Description |
| As a sapling, the foliage is a bright lime green. When the tree matures, the foliage turns into a shiny light green foliage. The bark of the tree is greyish in colour. The seed cones start as a purple, maturing to a dark brown. The pollen cones are yellow with red. |
| Texture Description |
| The texture of the bark is somewhat smooth near the bottom, getting rougher near the top. |
| Ethnobotanical Uses (Disclaimer) |
| Exploitation of the wood for timber is minor but it is mostly used in sawmills for domestic use. |
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