Sicilian fir  (Abies nebrodensis)

Range

Endemic to the island of Sicily, in the Mediterranean (1). This fir was once widespread in the Madonie Mountains but is today restricted to around 100 hectares in and around the Madonna degli Angeli Valley (3). Believed to be extinct at the turn of the 20th Century, the species was rediscovered in 1957 but only around 30 mature individuals persist in the wild today (3).

Habitat

Found on rocky, calcareous soil (2) between 1,400 and 1,650 metres above sea level (3). It is thought that mixed forests of Sicilian fir together with the beech Fagus sylvatica (2), and Holm Oak (Quercus ilex) were once more widespread at lower altitudes in these mountains (3).

left