Balsam Fir, Northern Balsam
Abies balsamea
Found in high elevation forests and cliffs (in VA and northwards); high elevation frost-pocket wetlands (WV), northwards somewhat more general in cool, mountain areas. FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you
56
Strong
Native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 47%
- Light
- Deep shade to full sun
- Soil moisture
- Somewhat dry to moist
No photograph yet. Looking for an old drawing…
Rare or protected plant. Specialist conservation planting; excluded from routine garden suggestions. Plant caution source
Hidden from default planting suggestions. Wildlife value and native status remain unchanged.
At a glance
Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves · Bloom
This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.
Recorded in 4 Virginia counties.
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
93CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · Abies
- Acleris varianaEastern Blackheaded Budworm
- Amorbia humerosanaWhite-Lined Leafroller Moth
- Aplectoides conditaX
- Archips argyrospilaFruit-Tree Leafroller Moth
- Argyrotaenia occultanaFall Spruce Needle Moth
- Argyrotaenia pinatubanaPine Tube Moth
- Argyrotaenia velutinanaRed-Banded Leafroller Moth, Jack Pine Tube Moth
- Autographa amplaLarge Looper Moth, Broken-Banded Y, Climbing Looper
- Automeris ioIo Moth
- Campaea perlataPale Beauty, Fringed Looper
Show all 93
- Caripeta angustiorataBrown Pine Looper Moth
- Caripeta divisataGray Spruce Looper Moth
- Chloropteryx tepperariaAngled-Winged Emerald
- Choristoneura fumiferanaSpruce Budworm Moth
- Choristoneura pinusJack Pine Budworm
- Choristoneura rosaceanaOblique-Banded Leafroller Moth, Rosaceous Leaf Roller
- Chrysoteuchia topiariusCranberry Girder, Subterranean Webworm, Topiary Grass-Veneer
- Cladara limitariaMottled Gray Carpet, Yellow-Lined Conifer Looper, Yellow-Lined Forest Looper, Black-Angled Wave
- Clepsis persicanaWhite Triangle Tortrix
- Dasychira mantoRusty Tussock Moth, Manto Tussock Moth
- Dasychira plagiataNorthern Conifer Tussock Moth
- Dasychira vagansVariable Tussock Moth
- Dioryctria abietivorellaEvergreen Coneworm Moth, Fir Coneworm
- Eacles imperialisImperial Moth, Imperial Spiny Caterpillar
- Ectropis crepusculariaThe Small Engrailed, Saddleback Looper
- Elaphria versicolorVariegated Midget
- Epinotia radicanaRed-Striped Needleworm Moth
- Epirrita autumnataThe Autumnal Moth, November Moth
- Eucopina tocullionanaWhite Pine Cone Borer
- Eueretagrotis perattentusTwo-Spot Dart
- Eufidonia notatariaPowder Moth
- Eulithis propulsataCurrant Eulithis
- Eupithecia palpataSmall Pine Looper, Palpata Pug
- Eutrapela clematariaCurved-Tooth Geometer, Purplish Brown Looper
- Feralia comstockiComstock's Sallow
- Feralia jocosaJocose Sallow, The Joker
- Hydriomena divisariaBlack-Dashed Hydriomena, Transverse-Banded Looper
- Hydriomena renunciataRenounced Hydriomena
- Hypagyrtis piniataPine Measuringworm Moth, Pine Variant
- Hypagyrtis unipunctataOne-Spotted Variant
- Hypoprepia fucosaPainted Lichen Moth
- Hypsopygia intermedialisRed-Shawled Moth
- Idia aemulaCommon Idia
- Iridopsis ephyrariaPale-Winged Gray
- Iridopsis humariaSmall Purplish Gray
- Iridopsis vellivolataLarge Purplish Gray
- Korscheltellus gracilisConifer Swift Moth, Graceful Ghost Moth
- Lambdina fervidariaCurve-Lined Looper Moth
- Lambdina fiscellariaHemlock Looper, Western Oak Looper
- Lithophane innominataNameless Pinion
- Macaria bisignataRed-Headed Inchworm
- Macaria signariaPale-Marked Angle, Spruce-Fir Looper, Dusky Peacock
- Malacosoma disstriaForest Tent Caterpillar
- Melanolophia canadariaCanadian Melanolphia, Variable Redmarked Looper
- Melanolophia signatariaSignate Melanolphia
- Nematocampa resistariaFilament Bearer, Horned Spanworm Moth
- Nemoria mimosariaWhite-Fringed Emerald
- Nepytia canosariaFalse Hemlock Looper Moth, Evergreen Span Worm
- Nepytia semiclusariaPine Conelet Looper
- Orgyia leucostigmaWhite-Marked Tussock Moth
- Orthosia hibisciSpeckled Green Fruitworm Moth, Speckled Green Quaker
- Palthis angulalisDark-Spotted Palthis
- Panthea acronyctoidesBlack Zigzag, Tufted Spruce Caterpillar
- Paralobesia palliolanaSpruce Mlcromoth
- Pero morrisonariaMorrison's Pero
- Phlogophora periculosaBrown Angle Shades
- Plagodis pulverariaAmerican Barred Umber, Barred Umber
- Platynota rostranaOmnivorous Platynota
- Probole amicariaFriendly Probole
- Prochoerodes lineolaLarge Maple Spanworm Moth
- Protoboarmia porcelariaPorcelain Gray, Dashedlined Looper
- Pyrrhia ciliscaAmerican Bordered Sallow, Noble Sun Moth
- Sicya maculariaSharp-Lined Yellow
- Sparganothis sulfureanaSparganothis Fruitworm Moth, Sulfur Leafroller, False Yellow-Head
- Sparganothis tristriataThree-Streaked Sparganothis
- Sphinx gordiusApple Sphinx
- Spiramater lutraDarling Mamestra, Splashed Arches, Otter Spiramater, Otter Arches
- Syndemis afflictanaFall Dead-Leaf Roller, Gray Leafroller, Black-and-Grey Banded Leafroller
- Syngrapha aliasSpruce Looper, Hooked Silver Y
- Syngrapha rectangulaSalt-and-Pepper Looper Moth
- Taniva albolineanaSpruce Needleminer Moth
- Tetracis cachexiataWhite Slant-Line
- Tolype laricisLarch Tolype, Larch Lappet Moth
- Trichodezia albovittataWhite-Striped Black
- Xestia badicollisWhite Pine Cutworm, Northern Variable Dart, White Pine Dart, Northern Pine Dart
- Xestia elimataSouthern Variable Dart, Southern Pine Dart
- Xestia praeviaEarly Conifer Dart, Praevia Dart
- Zanclognatha cruralisEarly Zanclognatha, Early Fan-Foot
- Zanclognatha dentataToothed Zanclognatha, Toothed Fan-Foot
- Zanclognatha protumnusalisConifer Zanclognatha, Complex Fan-Foot
- Zeiraphera improbanaLarch Budmoth, Larch Needleworm
- Apotomops wellingtoniana
- Dahlica walshella
0BeesSoutheastern regional records
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
4BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Abies
- Dendragapus obscurusDusky Grouse
- Falcipennis canadensisSpruce Grouse
- Lagopus leucuraWhite-tailed Ptarmigan
- Loxia leucopteraWhite-winged Crossbill
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Family not recorded
Conservation status
| Virginia rank | S1 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | Not available |
| VA status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
In your garden
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Sources
- Virginia DCR Natural Heritage rare plant list
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- FloraQuest: Northern Tier (Weakley), phone app (app page)
- NatureServe Explorer
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications