Evolutionary history and population genetics of fraser fir and intermediate fir, southern Appalachian endemic conifers imperiled by an exotic pest and climate change
This article is part of a larger document. View the larger document here.Abstract
Two Abies (true fir) taxa are endemic to high elevations of the Appalachian Mountains, where both are restricted to small populations and are imperiled by the same exotic insect. Fraser fir (Abies fraseri) exists in a handful of island-like populations on mountain ridges in the southern Appalachians of North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. Intermediate or Canaan fir (Abies balsamea var. phanerolepis) occurs in scattered high-elevation bogs in West Virginia and on mountaintops in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia.