B. Papp szerk.: Studia Botanica Hungarica 34. 2003 (Budapest, 2003)

Debreczy, Zsolt; Rácz, István: A re-assessment of the new taxa of firs (Abies Mill.) reported from Mexico in 1995

Discussion: this fir with "Abies grandis (Dougl. ex D. Don) Lindl.-like" appearance is characteristic with two resin canals in its needles, the early appearance of the strobiles, and green cones with enclosed, sessile bracts. It was found in a canyon on the Pacific side of the sierra close to the Durango-Sinaloa border. Although enclosed bracts and two resin canals exist in the leaves of both, it can readily be distinguished from A. durangensis by its densely hairy, dark purplish brown (not subglabrous-glabrous yellow or pruinose) branchiets, glabrous (not thickly resinous), straight (not curved), green (not grey pruinose), rounded-emargianate (not pointed) leaves (Figs 23, 25-26, versus Figs 24, 27-28) with median (not marginal) resin canals, cones with very short, enclosed (sessile) bracts with prominent laminál wings forming a "V" exceeding the shortly protruding tip (not subsessile), nearly reaching the "exposure line" (the inner limit of the exposed part, "scale head" of the cone scale) and triangular-acute at end. It has cones almost fully developed in size by the time A. durangensis "blooms". It is very distinct from, and not even comparable to, A. concolor (Gord. et Glend.) Lindl, ex Hild. or A. lowiana (Gord.) A. Murr. Discovery: on May 13, 1994, while heading from Capilla Textla, Sinaloa to El Salto, Durango, just 3 miles before reaching the plateau, that is on the warmer, western side of the sierra (identified later as Ejido la Victoria Parajé, San Antonio and Ejido 1 Brillante Parajé, Santa Barbara) we noticed a fir with fully developed, although not mature, green cones. Travelling to document the cone-inflorescences (strobiles) of Abies durangensis, we were surprised to see a species in cone. Having the samples in hand, we realised that it was a completely different species, at first sight most similar to A. grandis, a species of the Pacific North. At an altitude of 2,500 m, the trees are growing in the margin and upper part of deep canyons associated with the dominating Hydrangea seemannii Riley and 12 other species such as Alnus firmifolia Fern., Cornus disciflora DC., Garrya laurifolia Hartw., Litsea glaucescens H., B. et K. and Quercus magnoliifolia Nee. Conservation: we found only a few mature trees. Although the difficult site seems to secure the species, the preservation of the habitat(s) is immediately necessary. Young plants are present, but not many. We reported to Dir. Tec. Felipe Norberto Coria Quinone and Biol. Rosalva Miranda Salazar at Unidad Conservacion y Desarollo (UCODEFO) No-6, El Salto, and proposed to establish at least a few hectares of conservation land in the canyon. The protection seems to be secured and further studies are ongoing. Participants in field work: Dr Gyöngyvér Biró, Dr Zsolt Debreczy, Dr István Rácz (IDRI and Hung. Nat. Hist. Museum, Budapest, Hungary), Eva Kertész (Botanical Collection, Munkácsy Mihály Múzeum, Békéscsaba, Hungary), Vince Zsigmond (University of Horticulture, Budapest, Hungary).