Click on the images help you identify a balsam fir.
Form
Medium-sized tree, typically 40 to 60 feet tall, with a continuous, straight, tapering trunk from root to top. It reaches diameters of 9 to 20 inches or more. Spreading branches form a handsome, symmetrical, slender pyramid.
Bark
Smooth and grayish, prominently marked by blisters filled with resin, or balsam pitch.
Leaf
Needles are flat and 1/2 to 1 inch long, with rounded tips. They are dark green and lustrous above and silvery white beneath, arranged along the twig in two ranks. Needles are resinous and fragrant when crushed.
Fruit (seed)
Cones are upright on the branches, purple and oblong, measuring 2 to 4 inches long. They ripen in the autumn of the first year. Cone scales are wider than long. Seeds have very wide wings and, when ripe, fall together with the scales of the cone, leaving the hard central axis standing upright on the twig like a spike.
Range
Found in the forests of northern Minnesota and in a few scattered locations in the southeastern corner of the state. Balsam fir is usually associated with white spruce, from which it can be distinguished by its large, upright cones and soft needles. It thrives in cool, damp places and is very shade-tolerant.
Wood uses
The wood is light, soft, and not strong or durable, with a coarse grain. It is used only slightly for construction lumber and is often mixed with spruce wood for paper pulp. Balsam fir is especially important as a Christmas tree species.