Siberian Fir (Abies sibirica) is a coniferous evergreen tree native to the taiga east of the Volga River and south of 67°40' North latitude through Turkestan, northeast Xinjiang, Mongolia and Heilongjiang. The tree lives in the cold boreal climate on moist soils in mountains or river basins at elevations of 1900-2400 m. It is very shade-tolerant, frost-resistant, and hardy, surviving temperatures down to −50 °C. It rarely lives over 200 years due to the susceptibility to fungal decay in the wood.
Siberian Fir grows 30-35 m tall with a trunk diameter of 0.5-1 m at breast height and a conical crown. The bark is grey-green to grey-brown and smooth with resin blisters typical of most firs. Shoots are yellow-grey, resinous, and slightly pubescent. The leaves are needle-like, 2-3 cm long and 1.5 mm broad on average. They are light green above with two grey-white stomatal bands underneath, and are directed upwards along the stem. They are soft, flattened, and strongly aromatic. The cones are cylindrical, 5-9.5 cm long and 2.5-3.5 cm broad, with small bracts hidden by the scales. They ripen from bluish to brown or dark brown in mid-autumn. The seeds, 7 mm long with a triangular wing 0.7-1.3 cm long, are released when the cone disintegrates after maturity.
There are two varieties: