Abies delavayi

Abies delavayi, the Delavay's silver-fir or Delavay's fir, is a species of fir, native to Yunnan in southwest China and adjoining border areas in southeastern Tibet, far northeastern India, northern Myanmar, and far northwestern Vietnam. It is a high altitude mountain tree, growing at elevations of 3,000–4,000 m (exceptionally down to 2,400 m and up to 4,300 m), often occupying the tree line.

The species is named after its discoverer, Father Pierre Jean Marie Delavay, who collected it at 3,500–4,000 m on the Cangshan Mountains near Dali.

It is a small to medium-sized evergreen tree growing to 7–40 m tall, often less at tree line. The shoots are purple-brown to dark red-brown, glabrous or finely pubescent. The leaves are needle-like, 15–30 mm long and 1–2 mm broad, with a distinctive revolute margin. The upper surface of the leaves is glossy dark green with no stomata, the underside vivid snow-white with the stomata densely covered in white wax; this is thought to be an adaptation to exclude very heavy rain in its monsoon climate. The cones are dark purple-blue, 6–12 cm long and 3–4.5 cm broad, with numerous small scales and exserted bracts; they break up when mature at 6–8 months old to release the winged seeds.