Minnesota Profile: Balsam Fir (Abies balsamea)

Vital statistics: Balsam fir can grow 60 feet high with a trunk diameter of up to 20 inches. It usually lives about 100 years, though Minnesota has trees that are more than 200 years old.

Range: Native to northern Minnesota, balsam fir also grows in scattered locations in the southeastern corner. Balsam fir grows in Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, and New England, as well as portions of Canada.

Habitat: This tree thrives in cool, damp places with well-drained, loamy soils. Very shade tolerant, balsam fir can become established beneath larger trees. It can also grow, but relatively slowly, on gravelly sands and in peat swamps.

Appearance: A straight trunk from root to top and spreading branches form a symmetrical, slender pyramid. Bark is smooth, grayish, and prominently marked by narrow horizontal blisters that ooze or squirt fragrant resin when punctured. The thin, flat, needlelike leaves are 1/2- to 1-inch long, dark green, and lustrous above with two silvery white lines below. Needles are arranged on the twig in two rows and are resinous and fragrant. Purple cones, 2 to 4 inches long, grow upright on branches and ripen in one year, usually in August. The cone scales are wider than they are long. The seeds have very wide wings. When ripe, the seeds and scales fall together, leaving the cone's hard central axis standing upright on the twig like a spike.

Problems: Insects, especially spruce budworm, and diseases such as needle rust and root rot may be devastating. Flammable needles, shallow root systems, and thin, resinous bark make balsam fir susceptible to severe damage and mortality from wildfire. Old balsam fir trees growing on wet, shallow soils are easily uprooted by wind. Needles are easily burned by highway salt spray.

Uses: Balsam fir has been a favorite Christmas tree for more than 400 years. Boughs are used commercially to make Christmas wreaths. Prolonged needle retention, rich color, and pleasant fragrance make balsam fir attractive for both uses. Balsam wood is mixed with spruce wood to make paper pulp. As lumber, balsam is used for light-frame construction, paneling, crates, and other products not requiring high structural strength. Balsam fir provides food and cover for moose, white-tailed deer, snowshoe hare, red squirrel, grouse, and other wildlife.

Meg Hanisch
DNR Forestry public affairs specialist