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Pinaceae family

Balsam Fir (var. phanerolepis) Abies balsamea var. phanerolepis variety

Native

Balsam Fir (var. phanerolepis) is a perennial tree native to Canada and the lower 48 states. A keystone plant for native insects and the food web.

More about this plant

Abies balsamea or balsam fir is a North American fir, native to most of eastern and central Canada and the northeastern United States. Wikipedia →

Growing & care

USDA PLANTS · TRY
Conditions
Sources · Conditions
Cold hardiness (derived) — Hardiness
Hardiness
≥ zone 5 derived from its U.S. range
Size & form
Sources · Size & form
USDA PLANTS — Lifespan
Lifespan
Perennial
In the garden
Tree layer (canopy / understory) — Sits in the tree of a layered food forest or polyculture.Open guide →
derived roles
Species characteristics from USDA PLANTS (public domain) + TRY (CC BY) — general guidance, not a guarantee for your exact site. Deer "browsing" is documented palatability, not a deer-proof claim.

Wildlife & pollinators

How pollinator value is scored →
❧ Caterpillar hosts ~117 caterpillar species

Abies supports ~117 caterpillar species.

Native butterfly & moth caterpillars are the base of the terrestrial food web — most songbirds rear their young almost entirely on them. As a host for native Lepidoptera this is an exceptional genus.

Recorded feeding on Abies in North America, including:

Achytonix epipaschia · owlet moth Achytonix praeacuta · owlet moth Acleris gloveranus · Western Blackheaded Budworm Acleris variana · Eastern Black-Headed Budworm Moth Acronicta innotata · Unmarked Dagger Acronicta lepusculina · Cottonwood Dagger Moth
+ 8 more species →
Acronicta sperata · Hopeful Dagger Moth Agrochola pulchella · owlet moth Amorbia humerosana · White-Lined Leafroller Anacamptodes ephyraria · Pale-Winged Gray Anacamptodes vellivolata · geometer (inchworm) moth Aplectoides condita · Quivering Dart Moth Apotomops wellingtoniana · leafroller moth Archepandemis borealis · leafroller moth
Keystone count (genus-level) from Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use records. Named species (a documented Nearctic sample, not exhaustive) from NHM HOSTS (CC0).
Species thumbnails re-hosted from iNaturalist — Creative Commons, credited per image (hover for credit). Click any species to see it on iNaturalist. Not exhaustive; many taxa have no openly-licensed photo yet.
Sources for this entry (12) Open & cited
[01] Scientific name & family — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[02] Growth habit & duration — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[03] Native status & distribution — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503)
[04] Common name — USDA PLANTS (via GBIF)
[05] Invasive / introduced status — USDA PLANTS (DwCA, Zenodo 17903503) — native status
[07] Description — Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
[08] Ecological value — Warren II 2026 (CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[09] Cold hardiness (derived) — Derived from U.S. range × USDA PHZM zones
[11] Caterpillar host count — Warren II 2026 (Dryad, CC0) · Tallamy host-use counts
[12] Caterpillar species — NHM HOSTS (CC0)
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PlantKey’s data is open under CC BY-SA 4.0 — free to reuse and adapt, with attribution and the same licence. Photos keep their own per-image licence + credit (see Sources above).

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