Abies pindrow seed

LATIN NAME: ABIES PINDROW

COMMON NAME: Pindrow Fir

The pindrow fir droops the tall, evergreen conifer with the long, narrow, soft, dark-green needles that droop and spread along the weeping branchlets, the needles drooping over the tiered branches, the smooth, grey bark, the long, cylindrical, dark-brown cones following. The tree grows steadily into the tall, conical crown, and it stands the cold and the high altitudes well. It likes the sun, and the deep, moist, well-drained soil.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The drooping needles of the pindrow fir give it a recognised place in the research on the Himalayan high-mountain firs of the true fir group, and the pindrow species appears in the studies of the watershed growth and the needle shape. The work looks at the way the soft needles droop over the tiered branches, the straight timber, and the seed biology. The foresters value the wood, and the growers of the cold-climate specimen conifers keep the species in their catalogues.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

In the cool garden, the pindrow fir droops the cool garden with the weeping needles. The long, drooping foliage softens the crown, the timber serves the building and the joinery, and the tree makes the fine specimen. It thrives in the deep, moist, well-drained, sunny ground. Weeping-needled, tall and Himalayan.

To grow the Pindrow Fir from seed, set the seeds into the light, gritty drills of the seedbed in the autumn.

Set the seeds into the light, gritty drills of the seedbed, and give the young trees the open, sunny spot. The droop needles come within a few seasons. , then cover them lightly, keep the drills gently watered, and the young trees appear over the spring. The droop needles will soften within a few seasons.

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.