Balsam fir (Abies balsamea): what the agencies record

This page reports what US federal publications say about one tree. It does not identify trees from descriptions or photos and does not say what should be done with any tree. The family overview, tree species in the agency records, explains the sources and holds the comparison table.

At a glance

Item	What the source records
Scientific name	Abies balsamea (L.) Mill., pine family
Other names	Balsam, Canadian balsam, eastern fir and bracted balsam fir (Silvics)
Native status, USDA PLANTS	Native in Canada, in the lower 48 states and on Saint-Pierre and Miquelon
Mature size, Silvics	Heights of 12 to 18 m (40 to 60 ft) and diameters of 30 to 46 cm (12 to 18 in) in general; some trees reach 27 m (90 ft) and 75 cm (30 in); record diameter 86 cm (34 in)
Lifespan, Silvics	Maximum age is about 200 years
Green weight of the wood, NRS-38	45 lb per cubic foot, without bark

Native range

The Silvics of North America handbook (Agriculture Handbook 654, volume 1, 1990) calls balsam fir one of the more important conifers in the northern United States and Canada, a small to medium-sized tree used primarily for pulp and light frame construction and one of the most popular Christmas trees. In Canada it records a range from Newfoundland and Labrador west through the northern parts of Quebec and Ontario, in scattered stands through north-central Manitoba and Saskatchewan to the Peace River Valley in northwestern Alberta, then south to central Alberta and east and south to southern Manitoba. In the United States the range runs from extreme northern Minnesota southeast to Iowa, east to central Wisconsin and central Michigan into New York and central Pennsylvania, and northeast from Connecticut through New England, with local occurrences in the mountains of Virginia and West Virginia. The handbook says it grows from sea level to near the summit of Mount Washington in New Hampshire, where prostrate balsam fir is found in sheltered places.

Flowers and growth

Silvics describes the species as monoecious, with male and female cones forming from flower buds a year before pollination, and flower buds opening in late May or early June. In New Brunswick, female cones were seen on 83 percent of dominant trees and none on suppressed trees. In a Maine study, vigorous trees with a live crown at least 0.7 of tree height averaged 6.1 cm (2.4 in) of diameter growth over a 10-year span, against as little as 1.0 cm (0.4 in) over the same span for less vigorous trees.

Roots

The handbook says balsam fir root systems are mostly confined to the duff layer and the upper few centimetres of mineral soil, that windfall potential is high, and that damage from wind is especially likely when shallow roots are loosened by heavy rain and gusty winds. Roots on deep or shallow soils extend to 60 to 75 cm (24 to 30 in), with a reported depth of 137 cm (54 in).

Wood

The Wood Handbook (FPL-GTR-282, 2021) says the wood of the eastern true firs is creamy white to pale brown, with heartwood and sapwood generally indistinguishable, and that the similar structure makes it impossible to tell the species apart by the wood alone. It describes balsam and Fraser firs as lightweight, with low bending and compressive strength, moderately low stiffness, softness and low shock resistance. It says the eastern firs are used mainly for pulpwood, with some lumber for structural products in New England and the Great Lakes states. Silvics gives pulpwood and lumber as the most important products and adds that the wood has good splitting resistance.

Wood Handbook figure	Green	At 12% moisture content
Specific gravity (Table 5-3b)	0.33	0.35
Modulus of rupture, lbf per square inch (Table 5-3b)	5,500	9,200
Side hardness, lbf (Table 5-3b)	290	380
Moisture content of green wood, percent (Table 4-1)	88 heartwood, 173 sapwood	Not applicable

The green weight of the wood is in the NRS-38 table, the same figure used in the log weight calculator.

Pests and diseases the sources name

Silvics (1990) says insects and diseases may be devastating to balsam fir, and that flammable needles, shallow roots and thin resinous bark make it susceptible to severe fire damage. It names these agents by the names it used.

Spruce budworm. Called the most important insect by far. The handbook says it prefers fir over spruce and has killed tens of millions of cubic metres of balsam fir in vast outbreaks in eastern North America, perhaps as many as 11 since 1704, and that evidence of attack can be seen 40 or more years later.
Balsam woolly adelgid. Adelges piceae, an introduced insect found in southeastern Canada and the northeastern United States. The handbook says that severe stem attack can kill trees within 3 years. The Wood Handbook adds that the adelgid, introduced from Europe in the 1900s, affects all true firs.
Red heart fungus. Haematostereum sanguinolentum, called the cause of much decay in living trees, entering almost entirely through injuries to the trunk and living branches.
Root and butt rots. Six rots called economically important, among them Armillaria mellea, Phaeolus schweinitzii and Inonotus tomentosus. The handbook says rot can begin as early as 40 years, that more than half of trees are generally infected by age 70, and that no reliable external indicator of rot is known.
Witches' broom. Called the most conspicuous disease, caused by the rust fungus Melampsorella caryophyllacearum.
Animals. Mice, voles and birds eat the seed, birds and squirrels nip buds, and black bears girdle mature trees.

The guide on reporting a pest in the United States and the Canada reporting page give the offices that take sightings of regulated pests. Who may apply pesticides is in pesticide licences by country.