Medicinal Monday...White Fir Tree

Abies concolor or the White Fir tree is native to the mountains located in the western part of the United States. It can be found from Oregon down through California and south to New Mexico and Arizona. White Fir trees have been planted in New England and can sometimes be found growing in the wild in Maine, Vermont, and Massachusetts; it is not found in the wild in Connecticut or Rhode Island. Native American communities in the western part of the United States found several interesting medicinal uses for this beautiful tree that can live up to 300 years.

About White Fir Trees

The White Fir tree is an evergreen with a narrow pyramidal shape. It can grow up to 125 feet tall in full sun or partial shade. The citrus-smelling needles are one to three inches long and are light blue or silver. The cones grow upright on this tree and change color as they mature from purple to olive green, and when mature, a shiny brown color. As the cone comes apart, it releases tiny winged seeds. The bark of the young white fir tree is smooth and light grey in color, as the tree matures the bark develops furrows that sometimes reveal its orange-yellow periderm that looks like cork. It is called concolor because of the uniformity of the color of this tree's needles.

Medicinal Uses

Some of the most common uses of the White Fir tree were to warm the pitch and apply it to boils and sores, and to make tea from the boiled bark to treat tuberculosis. Tea was also made from the needles and taken to treat coughs and colds. In addition to these uses, the Keres made an infusion of the needles and put them in a warm bath to treat rheumatism. The Pauite made a poultice from the fresh pitch and applied it to cuts, they also made a compound decoction of resin and took it to treat venereal disease. The wood and twigs of this tree are used to make pipe stems and the bark is used to tan buckskin.

photo  M.Gajic

Did You Know...

The White Fir tree is a popular Christmas tree. As of 2019, it was chosen twice for the White House Christmas tree.

The saplings and new foliage are eaten by deer, squirrels, and porcupines.

Owls and Bald Eagles often nest in this fir tree.

The trunk cavities and hollow logs provide shelter for porcupines, weasels,  and black bears.

Other names for this tree are Balsam Fir, Rocky Mountain White Fir, White Balsam, and Silver Fir.