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silver fir
[silver n.]
1. A tall species of fir (Abies or Picea pectinata), native to southern and central Europe and some parts of Asia, introduced into Britain in the 17th century and extensively used for planting.
The bark of the young tree is of a silvery grey, and the leaves have two broad white lines on the under-surface.
1707Mortimer Husb. 365 Firs are of several sorts,..but the best sort both for Beauty and Timber, is that which they call the Silver-Fir. 1789Emmerich Forests xx. 78 There are three species of Needle Wood or Firs: the Norway Fir, the Scotch Fir, and the Silver Fir. 1832Planting (L.U.K.) 89 The specimens of the silver fir (Pinus picea) at Blair Adam..are remarkable for size and symmetry. 1882Garden 23 Dec. 548/2 The Silver Fir is a majestic tree either singly or in clump.
attrib.1871Kingsley At Last vii, Among the high Silver-fir forests of the Pyrenees.
b. A tree belonging to this species.
1789Trans. Soc. Arts I. 72 The greatest number of Silver Firs. 1892Gardener's Chron. 27 Aug. 251/1 Some fine Silver Firs are here, one over 100 feet in height.
2. Applied to various other species of fir, usually with distinctive epithets (see quots.).
The ‘silver firs’ are sometimes classed under the genus Picea, and the ‘spruce firs’ under Abies.
1834Audubon Ornith. II. 426 The Balsam or Silver Fir..is abundant in the State of Maine. 1874Stewart & Brandis Flora N. West India 528 Abies Webbiana,..Himalayan Silver Fir. 1879Encycl. Brit. IX. 225/1 The Silver Fir of Canada (P. balsamea)..furnishes the ‘Canada balsam’ used in medicine. 1880Bessey Botany 412 The Giant Silver Fir, A. grandis, of Oregon and California. |