Abies gamblei

West Himalayan fir is in the pine or Pinaceae family and grows in the drier parts of the Himalayas, from western Nepal westward to eastern Afghanistan. Although some sources identify this species to be a subspecies of A. pindrow, authors of Conifers Around the World clearly identify it as a separate species.

• Needles are 2–3 cm long and 2 mm broad, flattened, pointed or blunt tipped or slightly notched, the upper surface as dark green, with a midrib and two whitish stomatal lines below. They are spirally arranged on the twigs.
• The species is monoecious; pollen cones appear on lateral branchlets and are 3–4.5 cm long, yellow and the longest of any Abies. Seed cones also appear on the laterals and are thick, cylindrical with obtuse apexes (tips), 6–10 cm long by 4–5 cm wide, and are purple-blue with blue bracts, ripening to dark brown. Cones disintegrate in the fall, leaving a very thick rachis (core).
• Shoots are purple or orange-brown, graying with age; buds are ovoid and resinous, 4–10 mm long; bark is smooth, brown-gray on younger trees, with resin pockets, becoming dark brown and longitudinally fissured with age.