Abies borisii-regis

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Divisio: Tracheophyta
Divisio: Pinophyta
Classis: Pinopsida
Ordo: Pinales

Familia: Pinaceae
Genus: Abies
Sectio: A. sect. Abies
Species: Abies borisii-regis
Name

Abies borisii-regis Mattf., Notizbl. Bot. Gart. Berlin-Dahlem 9: 235 (1925) [Jstor paywall]
Note:

Considered by some botanists to be a hybrid Abies alba × Abies cephalonica

Synonyms

Homotypic
Abies alba subsp. borisii-regis (Mattf.) Kožuharov & N.Andreev, Opred. Vissh. Rast. Bulg.: 785 (1992).
Abies cilicica subsp. borisii-regis (Mattf.) Silba, J. Int. Conifer Preserv. Soc. 15: 37 (2008).
Heterotypic
Abies apollinis Boiss., Fl. Orient. 5: 702 (1884), nom. illeg.
Abies alba var. acutifolia Turrill, Bull. Misc. Inform. Kew 1925: 34 (1925).
Abies × borisii-regis var. pungentipilosa Viguié & Gaussen, Bull. Soc. Hist. Nat. Toulouse 58: 279 (1929).
Abies cilicica var. borisii-regis (Mattf.) Silba, Phytologia 68: 11 (1990).

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Europe
Southeastern Europe
Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Yugoslavia [Macedonia]

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References

Farjon, A. 1998. World Checklist and Bibliography of Conifers. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. ISBN 1-84246-025-0. Reference page.
Meyer, F.K. 2011: Beiträge zur Flora von Albanien. Haussknechtia, Beiheft 15: 1–220. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2019. Abies borisii-regis. Published online. Accessed: 29 July 2019.

Vernacular names
български: Българска ела
čeština: Jedle makedonská
Deutsch: Bulgarische Tanne
dolnoserbski: Bulgarska jedła
English: Bulgarian Fir
Esperanto: Bulgara abio
suomi: Kuninkaanpihta
hornjoserbsce: Bołharska jědla
magyar: Makedón jegenyefenyő
íslenska: Búlgaríuþinur
norsk: Kong Boris' edelgran
polski: Jodła bułgarska
svenska: Bulgarisk gran
Türkçe: Bulgaristan göknarı

Abies borisii-regis (Bulgarian fir) is a species of fir native to the mountains of the Balkan Peninsula in Bulgaria, northern Greece, North Macedonia, Albania and Serbia. It occurs at altitudes of 800–1,800 m, on mountains with an annual rainfall of over 1,000 mm.[2][3][4][5][6]
Abies borisii-regis in the Pirin Mountains, Bulgaria

It is a large evergreen coniferous tree growing to 40–50 m (exceptionally 60 m) tall and with a trunk diameter of up to 1.5 m. The leaves are needle-like, flattened, 1.8–3.5 cm long and 2 mm wide by 0.5 mm thick, glossy dark green above, and with two blue-white bands of stomata below. The tip of the leaf is variable, usually pointed, but sometimes slightly notched at the tip, particularly on slow-growing shoots on older trees. The cones are 10–21 cm long and 4 cm broad, with about 150–200 scales, each scale with an exserted bract and two winged seeds; they disintegrate when mature to release the seeds.[2][3][4][5][6]

It is closely related to (and in many respects intermediate between) silver fir to the north in central Europe, Greek fir to the south in southern Greece, and Nordmann fir to the east in northern Turkey. Some botanists treat it as a natural hybrid between silver Fir and Greek fir, while others treat it as a variety of silver fir, as Abies alba var. acutifolia. Another synonym is Abies pardei.[2][3][4][5][6]

The scientific name honours Tsar Boris III of Bulgaria, during whose reign it was described as a new species in 1925. The name is sometimes cited without a hyphen (Abies borisiiregis), though under the provisions of ICBN Article 60.9 the hyphen is to be retained.
See also

List of Balkan endemic plants
List of organisms named after famous people (born 1800–1899)

References

Conifer Specialist Group (1998). "Abies borisii-regis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 1998. Retrieved 12 May 2006.
Farjon, A. (1998). World Checklist and Bibliography of Conifers. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew ISBN 1-900347-54-7.
Rushforth, K. (1987). Conifers. Helm ISBN 0-7470-2801-X.
Rushforth, K. (1999). Trees of Britain and Europe. Collins ISBN 0-00-220013-9.
Liu, T.-S. (1971). A Monograph of the Genus Abies. National Taiwan University.
Gymnosperm Database: Abies borisii-regis Archived October 31, 2007, at the Wayback Machine