The Balsam fir (Abies balsamea; Sapin baumier) is a fast-growing, native species of conifer. It grows throughout Eastern Canada, all the way to central Alberta and the Northeastern United States. It is characterized by soft, flat needles and often used as a Christmas tree. Since its pollen spreads on the wind, it grows easily in strong sunlight after disturbance, and also grows fairly well in the city (Government of Canada, 2015), although there are only just over 300 fir trees among the public trees of Montreal (Quebec Centre for Biodiversity Science, 2023). The local Indigenous peoples, including the Kanien’kehá:ka use(d) parts of this fir for medicinal purposes and also sometimes ate the bark, which is high in vitamin C.
There is one Balsam fir on the Loyola campus, located right next to the CJ building on the Sherbrooke Street side. In 2020, this tree was about 9 cm in diameter at breast height and was storing about 13 kg of carbon (see itree.org for details).
References
- Government of Canada, Natural Resources Canada. (2015). Red oak. Government of Canada, Natural Resources Canada. https://tidcf.nrcan.gc.ca/en/trees/factsheet/80
- Quebec Centre for Biodiversity Science (2023). Public trees of Montreal. https://www.quebio.ca/en.