Abies cephalonica

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

Familia: Pinaceae
Genus: Abies
Sectio: A. sect. Abies
Species: Abies cephalonica
Name

Abies cephalonica Loudon, Gard. Mag. (London) 14: 81, (1838; also Arbor. Frutic. Brit. 4: 2325, 1838).
Synonyms

Homotypic
Picea cephalonica (Loudon) Loudon, Encycl. Trees Shrubs: 1039 (1842).
Pinus cephalonica (Loudon) Endl., Cat. Horti Vindob. 1: 218 (1842).
Pinus abies var. cephalonica (Loudon) Christ, Verh. Naturf. Ges. Basel 3: 544 (1864).
Abies alba subsp. cephalonica (Loudon) K.Richt., Pl. Eur. 1: 5 (1890).
Heterotypic
Abies acicularis Maxim. ex Lavallée, Énum. Arbres: 257 (1877).
Abies apollinis Link, Linnaea 15: 528 (1842).
Pinus apollinis (Link) Antoine, Coniferen: 73 (1843).
Pinus abies var. apollinis (Link) Endl., Syn. Conif.: 96 (1847).
Abies picea var. apollinis (Link) Lindl. & Gordon, J. Hort. Soc. London 5: 210 (1850).
Picea apollinis (Link) Rauch ex Gordon, Pinetum, Suppl.: 44 (1862).
Abies cephalonica var. apollinis (Link) Beissn., Einheitl. Conif.-Ben.: 43 (1891).
Abies cephalonica subsp. apollinis (Link) Silba, J. Int. Conifer Preserv. Soc. 15: 37 (2008).
Abies cephalonica var. arcadica Henkel & W.Hochst., Syn. Nadelhölz.: 182 (1865).
Pinus picea var. graeca Fraas, Syn. Pl. Fl. Class.: 265 (1845).
Abies heterophylla K.Koch, Linnaea 22: 295 (1849), nom. illeg.
Abies cephalonica var. heterophylla K.Koch, Linnaea 22: 295 (1849).
Abies luscombeana Loudon, Arbor. Frutic. Brit. 4: 2325 (1838).
Abies panachaica Heldr., Gartenflora 10: 286 (1861).
Pinus abies var. panachaica (Heldr.) Christ, Verh. Naturf. Ges. Basel 3: 544 (1863).
Picea panachaica Heldr. ex Carrière, Traité Gén. Conif., ed. 2: 283 (1867), nom. inval., pro syn.
Picea cephalonica var. panachaica (Heldr.) Lindl. in E.J.Ravenscroft, Pinet. Brit. 2: 175 (1868).
Abies apollinis var. panachaica (Heldr.) Boiss., Fl. Orient. 5: 702 (1884).
Picea apollinis var. panachaica (Heldr.) Boiss., Fl. Orient. 5: 702 (1884).
Abies cephalonica var. parnassica Henkel & W.Hochst., Syn. Nadelhölz.: 181 (1865).
Abies peloponnesiaca Haage ex K.Koch, Wochenschr. Gärtnerei Pflanzenk. 1: 12 (1858).
Abies peloponnesica Haage ex Heldr., Gartenflora 9: 313 (1860).
Abies cephalonica var. peloponnesiaca (Haage ex K.Koch) Viguié & Gaussen, Bull. Soc. Hist. Nat. Toulouse 58: 307 (1929).
Abies cephalonica subsp. peloponnesiaca (Haage ex K.Koch) Silba, J. Int. Conifer Preserv. Soc. 15: 37 (2008).
Abies cephalonica f. pseudocilicica Guin. & Maire, Bull. Soc. Bot. France 55: 187 (1908).
Abies reginae-amaliae Heldr., Gartenflora 9: 313 (1860).
Abies apollinis var. reginae-amaliae (Heldr.) Boiss., Fl. Orient. 5: 702 (1884).
Abies cephalonica var. reginae-amaliae (Heldr.) Beissn., Handb. Nadelholzk.: 441 (1891).
Pinus cephalonica var. reginae-amaliae (Heldr.) Voss in K.Putlitz & L.Meyer, Landlexikon 4: 774 (1913).
Abies cephalonica var. submutica Bailly, Rev. Hort. (Paris) 60: 578 (1888).

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental: Europe
Regional: Southeastern Europe
Albania, Greece, Italy (introduced).

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

Tutin, T.G., Burges, N.A., Chater, A.O., Edmondson, J.R., Heywood, V.H., Moore, D.M., Valentine, D.H., Walters, S.M. & Webb, D.A. (eds.) 1993. Flora Europaea. Volume 1: Psilotaceae to Platanaceae. 2nd edition, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (UK) / New York / Melbourne, xlvi + 581 pp., ISBN 0-521-41007-X. Reference page.

Links

Govaerts, R. et al. 2021. Abies cephalonica in World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published online. Accessed: 2021 March 1. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2021. Abies cephalonica. Published online. Accessed: 1 March 2021.

Vernacular names
العربية: شوح كيفالوني
Deutsch: Griechische Tanne
Ελληνικά: Κεφαλληνιακή ελάτη
English: Greek Fir
Esperanto: Greka abio
español: Abeto griego
suomi: Kreikanpihta
français: Sapin de Céphalonie
magyar: Görög jegenyefenyő
italiano: Abete greco
перем коми: Кефалинияись ньыв
lietuvių: Graikinis kėnis
Nederlands: Griekse zilverspar
norsk: Gresk gran
polski: Jodła grecka
русский: Пихта кефалинийская
Türkçe: Yunanistan göknarı
удмурт: Кефалиниысь ньылпу

Abies cephalonica or Greek fir[2] is a fir native to the mountains of Greece, primarily in the Peloponnesos and the island of Kefallonia, intergrading with the closely related Bulgarian fir further north in the Pindus mountains of northern Greece. It is a medium-size evergreen coniferous tree growing to 25–35 metres (82–115 ft) – rarely 40 m (130 ft) – tall and with a trunk diameter of up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in). It occurs at altitudes of 900–1,700 m (3,000–5,600 ft), on mountains with a rainfall of over 1,000 millimetres (39 in).

The leaves are needle-like, flattened, 1.5–3.0 cm (0.6–1.2 in) long and 2 mm (0.08 in) wide by 0.5 mm (0.02 in) thick, glossy dark green above, and with two blue-white bands of stomata below. The tip of the leaf is pointed, usually fairly sharply but sometimes with a blunt tip, particularly on slow-growing shoots on older trees. The cones are 10–20 cm (4–8 in) long and 4 cm (1.6 in) broad, with about 150–200 scales, each scale with an exserted bract and two winged seeds; they disintegrate when mature to release the seeds.

It is also closely related to Nordmann fir to the east in northern Turkey.
Uses

Greek fir was important in the past for wood for general construction, but it is too rare to be of significant value now. It is also grown as an ornamental tree in parks and large gardens, though in areas that often get late frosts it is prone to frost damage, as it is one of the first conifers to open fresh growth in spring.
References

Gardner, M.; Knees, S. (2016) [errata version of 2011 assessment]. "Abies cephalonica". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2011: e.T38320A101026687. Retrieved 20 December 2021.
BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2014-10-17.