4/ ABIES PINSAPO 

Curiosidades: Es posiblemente  el árbol mas bello entre los abetos. Su madera no es de gran calidad, al ser poco utilizada por el hombre ha servido para que se mantuvieran pinsapares casi puros.

Abies deriva del griego "abios“ larga vida. Pinsapo parece derivar de  las palabras latinas “pinus (pino) y “sapinus” (abeto), de manera que vendría a decir Pinabeto. Es una reliquia de los bosque del Terciario que quedaron como reducto en las serranías del Sur de España. Es una especie de gran belleza ornamental y se hibrida con facilidad con otras especies.

Longevity: Slow-growing conifer reaching up to 30 m. Deep-rooted, though roots can spread horizontally depending on terrain.

Habitat: Native to small mountain areas in southern Spain (Grazalema, Sierra de las Nieves, and Bermeja), between 1,000 and 1,800 m. Forms mixed forests with holm oaks and gall oaks. A related subspecies, Abies maroccana, grows in Morocco’s Rif Mountains up to 2,100 m. Prefers rocky, calcareous soils but tolerates others if not waterlogged. Requires high rainfall and humidity but withstands hot summers; favors north and northwest slopes.

Distribution in Spain: Naturally found in the Sierras de las Nieves, Grazalema, and Bermeja; introduced in other Iberian ranges and widely planted in parks and gardens.

Characteristics: Thick, columnar trunk that may twist with age; bark thin, gray-brown, horizontally cracked. Open, pyramidal crown. Leaves rigid, evergreen, and flat (≈1.2 cm), dark green with white bands underneath, lasting up to 12 years — a record among firs. Needles arranged helically around the branches, a distinctive trait. Cones cylindrical and upright (up to 15 cm), grayish-brown with smooth scales that fall off when mature, leaving only the central axis; bracts are fused to the scales.

Curiosities: Considered one of the most beautiful firs. Its wood is of limited commercial value, which has helped preserve pure stands (pinsapares). Abies comes from Greek abios (“long life”), and pinsapo likely combines Latin pinus (pine) and sapinus (fir), meaning “pine-fir.” A relic of Tertiary forests, it survives only in southern Spain. Highly ornamental and easily hybridizes with other species.