Firs (Abies) is an evergreen coniferous tree genus with 48″56 species in the Pinaceae family. They may be found over most of North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, with the majority of the range occurring in the mountains. The genus Cedrus is the most closely related to the genus Fir (cedar). Douglas firs, which belong to the genus Pseudotsuga, are not genuine firs.

As a reference to its height, the genus name is derived from the Latin “to rise.” The Old Norse form of the Old Danish for are the origins of the common English term.

When fully grown, they may reach heights of 10″80 m (33″262 ft) and trunk diameters of 0.5″4 m (1 ft 8 in”13 ft 1 in). Firs are differentiated from other members of the pine family by their needle-like leaves, which are connected individually to the branches with a suction cup-like base, and by their cones, which, like genuine cedars (Cedrus), stand straight on the branches like candles and disintegrate at maturity.

The size and arrangement of the leaves, the size and form of the cones, and whether the bract scales of the cones are long and exserted or short and buried inside the cone are used to identify the distinct species.

Firs are differentiated from other pine species by the needle-like leaves that are attached to the twig by a base that resembles a tiny suction cup.

As with A. sibirica, the leaves are considerably flattened, sometimes appearing to be crushed.

On the bottom of the leaves, there are two white lines produced by wax-covered stomatal bands. The upper surface of the leaves in most species is uniformly green and glossy, with no stomata or a few near the tip that appears as white dots. The top surface of leaves of other species is dull, gray-green, or bluish-gray to silvery (glaucous), wax-coated, and has a varied number of stomatal bands that aren’t usually continuous. A. alba is an example of a species with glossy green leaves, whereas A. concolor is an example of a species with dull, waxy leaves.

The tips of the leaves are generally notched (as in A. firma), but they can also be rounded or dull (as in A. concolor, A. Magnifica) or sharp and prickly (as in A. concolor, A. Magnifica) (as in A. bracteata, A. Cephalonia, A. halophila). Young plants’ leaves are generally sharper.

The way they extend from the stalk varies greatly, with just a few species having comb-shaped leaves arrayed on two sides, flat (A. alba)

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