Abies pindrow seed

The Pindrow Fir or West Himalayan Fir (Abies pindrow) is a fir native to the western Himalaya and adjacent mountains, from northeast Afghanistan east through northern Pakistan and India to central Nepal. It grows at altitudes of 2,400-3,700 m in forests together with Deodar Cedar, Blue Pine and Morinda Spruce, typically occupying cooler, moister north-facing slopes.

It is a large evergreen tree growing to 40-60 m tall, and with a trunk diameter of up to 2-2.5 m. It has a conical crown with level branches.

The shoots are greyish-pink to buff-brown, smooth and hairless. The leaves are needle-like, among the longest of any fir, 4-9 cm long, flattened in cross-section, glossy dark green above, with two whitish bands on the underside; they are arranged spirally on the shoots, but twisted at the base to lie in a flat plane either side of the shoot. The cones are broad 7-14 cm long and 3-4 cm broad, dark purple when young, disintegrating when mature to release the seeds 5–7 months after pollination.