Abies numidica Seeds | Algerian Fir

Narrow fir with stiff dark needles showing bright white bands beneath and large purple-green cones — Algerian fir (Abies numidica): Pinaceae, Tell Atlas, Algeria

LATIN NAME: Abies numidica

COMMON NAME: Algerian Fir

Plant Profile

Algerian fir is a tree that almost nobody has seen, because it exists on two mountains in northern Algeria and nowhere else. It grows on limestone at around 1800 to 2000 metres, where it forms small, open stands mixed with Atlas cedar and Algerian oak. The tree reaches 20 to 30 metres, with a narrow, irregular crown and needles that are stiff, dark green above and marked with two brilliant white bands beneath, arranged around the shoot so that the branch looks frosted from below. The cones are large, cylindrical and purple-green, ripening to brown. It is one of the rarest firs in the world, with a total population of a few thousand trees, and it is threatened by fire, grazing, drought and the retreat of its climate zone up the mountain.

Science & Biotechnology

Abies numidica is a relic of the Tertiary forests that once covered the Mediterranean basin, and its closest relatives are the other Mediterranean firs — A. pinsapo of southern Spain and A. cephalonica of Greece — a group united by stiff, radially arranged needles and a disjunct distribution that records the drying of the Mediterranean. Genetic work on the remaining stands shows very low diversity and strong differentiation between the two mountains, which means the species has been fragmented for a long time and that each population is genetically distinct. The tree is a case study in the conservation genetics of narrow endemics: small populations lose diversity through drift, and a single fire can remove a significant fraction of the global gene pool. Ex situ collections in arboreta are therefore not a decorative nicety but a genuine conservation measure.

Uses & Benefits

Outside Algeria the tree is grown almost entirely in botanical collections, arboreta and specialist conifer gardens, where it is valued as a rare and beautiful fir and where each cultivated plant is a genetic backup for the wild population. It makes a dense, dark, narrow tree, slower and more compact than most firs, and it tolerates limestone and dry air better than many of its relatives, which makes it a sensible choice for a Mediterranean-climate garden with cold winters. The timber is of no commercial importance because there is so little of it. Seed is produced in good years in cultivation, and seedlings from documented wild provenance are traded among conifer societies, which is how the species survives outside its two mountains.

Growing from Seed

Stratify the seed cold and moist for six to eight weeks, then sow in a gritty, humus-rich mix at 15 to 18 °C. Germination is usually reliable but the seedlings are slow, and they benefit from a cool, bright position with shade from strong midday sun in their first summer. Grow them in deep pots, since the roots dislike disturbance, and plant out at three or four years in autumn. Choose a site with full sun, sharp drainage and limestone if available, and avoid winter waterlogging, which is the main killer in cultivation. Irrigate for the first two summers only, and afterwards rely on rainfall except in a drought year. The tree is hardy to about minus 20 and tolerates wind, but not a warm, humid lowland climate.

Our Take

A rare, beautiful and genuinely threatened fir that every conifer collection should hold, and a small act of conservation if you grow it from documented seed.

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