Homegrown Habitat, December 2023: Balsam Fir
In addition to its beauty, balsam fir has much to offer ecologically. Photo by R. A. Nonenmacher – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=37446626
Sarah Middeleer writes this month about a tree that can bring some of the northern forest—and plenty of birds!—to your home. Write to Sarah at homegrown@ctaudubon.org.
If you celebrate Christmas, you know the balsam fir (Abies balsamaea) as an iconic symbol of the season. Its symmetrically conical shape and dark-green needles make it a popular Christmas tree, and it is also used extensively for wreaths. Balsam fir bark and needles contain terpenes that lend its foliage a delightful fragrance. But in addition to its beauty, balsam fir has much to offer ecologically. Woodland mammals rely on it for food and shelter, and it offers many benefits to birds. And, as you will see below, it has several interesting characteristics and uses.
This native conifer is considered a “pollinator powerhouse plant,” because it hosts over 100 lepidoptera (moths and butterflies). Their larvae are a critical food source for the nestlings of migratory songbirds. In fact, a common pest called spruce budworm (which actually prefers firs), is an important source of food for Blackburnian and Cape May warblers, as well as Evening Grosbeaks,whose population decline has been linked to efforts in commercial fir forests to eradicate spruce budworm.
Balsam fir offers other benefits to birds as well: its dense, evergreen branching pattern provides excellent protection from harsh weather and predators. In northern forests, grouse will eat the buds and needles in winter. White-Winged Crossbills and Pine Siskins eat the seeds. Balsam fir is also an important nesting tree for Veeries, Blackpoll Warblers, and Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, and is the primary nesting tree for the rare Bicknell’s Thrush.
Balsam fir cones are unusual because they stand up like candles instead of dangling downward. The young cones are blue. Some of their seeds will be eaten by birds or rodents, but many will be dispersed by the wind.
Balsam firs produce large cone crops in odd years and few or no cones in even years. A big cone crop is called mast, a term for the fruit of trees eaten by wildlife. Rodent populations will surge in mast years, which can be disastrous to nesting songbirds such as Bicknell’s Thrush and Blackpoll Warblers because, as the rodents climb the trees in search of fir seeds, they help themselves to the eggs and nestlings that they encounter on their way.
A quirky trait of this tree is its resin blisters–bumps full of resin, also known as pitch, that form under the top layer of bark along the trunk. This is a defense against wood-boring insects which, if they puncture a blister, will find themselves in a literally sticky situation.
According to Joe Attwater, conservation and education coordinator at Connecticut Audubon’s Roger Tory Peterson Estuary Center, in his recent webinar on nuthatches and treecreepers, nuthatches sometimes install globs of resin around the openings of their nest cavities in order to deter predators. He noted that they must need to use great care entering and exiting their nests.
Balsam fir cones are unusual because they stand up like candles instead of dangling downward. The young cones are blue. Photo by Wallace Howe from Canada – Family Road Trip to Newfoundland July 12th-28th 2017, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=80252232
As the balsam fir ages and begins to lose needles, a type of lichen called old man’s beard (Usnea longissima) may become established on the bare branches. Most of the northern population of the Northern Parula nest only in this lichen, which often grows on balsam firs, forming pendant, feathery structures that can grow up to 20 feet long. Unfortunately old man’s beard has become very rare in the United States due to pollution and loss of habitat.
Balsam fir grows extensively in boreal (northernmost) forests, but its native range extends south to New England and along the Appalachian Mountain chain at its highest elevations. It also grows in the northern Midwest states and reaches into New York and central Pennsylvania. Unfortunately it is critically imperiled in Connecticut. It grows 35 to 60 feet high by 12 to 18 feet wide and prefers full sun or part shade in moist, cool soils.
I planted a balsam fir a few years ago with some trepidation, knowing that it can struggle in high temperatures and drought. I put it in an area sheltered by prevailing winter winds and near other trees but not in dense shade. Coincidentally the chosen location is also a short distance downhill from my compost pile, so the soil is rich. Thankfully the tree is flourishing; it even survived the drought of 2022 (with some watering). I love seeing the many birds who duck into it throughout the day and who hunker down in its protective branches during storms.
Consider using balsam fir for specimen plantings or screening. It forms a beautiful backdrop to shrubs with red fall foliage or berries. In the wild, its companion shrubs include beaked hazelnut, striped maple, and Canada yew. Its natural herbaceous companions include cinnamon ferns, trillium, bunchberry, Canada mayflower, wood sorrel, and sedges.
Ruffed Grouse eat the needles and the buds in winter. Photo by Ryan Hodnett – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=89388514
Balsam fir has been used in many ways throughout history. Native Americans used its resin to seal canoes, and more recently the resin has been used as an ingredient in varnish, adhesive, and chewing gum. It is also used as a flavoring ingredient in medicines.
The common name balsam refers to the word balm for the tree’s healing qualities. Indigenous peoples have utilized its sap to heal burns and the resin to treat infections. Its inner bark has been used as a poultice. Balsam fir needles are said to make a lovely tea (steep no longer than one minute). And recent research points toward the possibility of compounds in balsam fir to help treat Type-2 diabetes.
Jered Rosenbaum, author of the fascinating book Wild Plant Culture A Guide to Restoring Edible and Medicinal Native Plant Communities says: “We often simmer balsam fir foliage on the woodstove or stovetop at home. It has a very rich, deep, and soothing aroma, and it’s a pleasure to walk into the home in winter and be greeted by its warming fragrance.”
We wish you all a joyful holiday season and avian abundance in your garden throughout this coming year!
Send questions and comments to homegrown@ctaudubon.org
Resources
Books
Laura Erickson, 100 Plants to feed the Birds Turn Your Home into a Healthy Bird Habitat, Storey Publishing, 2022
Jared Rosenbaum, Wild Plant Culture A Guide to Restoring Edible and Medicinal Native Plant Communities, New Society Publishers, 2023
https://plantfinder.nativeplanttrust.org/plant/Abies-balsamea
https://urbanecologycenter.org/blog/native-tree-spotlight-balsam-fir-abies-balsamea.html
https://www.gardenia.net/plant/abies-balsamea-balsam-fir
https://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/misc/ag_654/volume_1/abies/balsamea.htm
https://urbanecologycenter.org/blog/native-tree-spotlight-balsam-fir-abies-balsamea.html
https://vtecostudies.org/wildlife/plants/balsam-fir/
https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.152370/Abies_balsamea
https://gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/abies/balsamea/#
https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/usnea_longissima.shtml
