No, they are not Raspberries! And if they look delicious, don´t be fooled, they are pine cones! Actually they are the female cones of the Spanish Fir tree.I took this picture while hiking in the Sierra de las Nieves natural reserve near Yunquera, Spain. The hiking trails closed in the summer months to prevent forest fires.
The Spanish Fir tree only grows wild in three rather small forests in the Sierra de las Nieves mountains (means "snowy mountians"). This tree species had once covered large areas of Southern Spain but over the centuries has slowly receeded into its current habitat.
The young trees of this species have an practically perfect "Christmas tree" appearance to them. As they get more advanced in years they loose the conical shape and tend to have their trunks forked into several stems instead of just one. This is true of the local champion tree called "El Pinsapo de la Escalereta" which has its trunk divided into three large stems.
The needle like leaves of the Spanish Fir are short and very stiff. At times they remind me of a stiff hairbrush.
If you are ever in vacationing on the "Costa del Sol" (Sun Coast - Malaga, Spain) this is a great place to take an outing away from the beach and enjoy these majestic trees.
If this tree interests you check out these others as well...
Nordmann Fir
Atlas Cedar
Cedar of Lebanon
Himalayan Cedar
I just purchased the Spanish Fir for my home in Westhampton Beach, NY from a local nursery who imports rare specimen. I knew a had a find when Googling the conifer I came across this picture.
ReplyDeleteAnne
Anne - you have found a beautiful tree indeed! I hope it adapts well to your local climate.
ReplyDeleteThe featured cones are actually male ones, not female.
ReplyDelete