This is the common name of Abies Cephalonica, which has proved to be one of the hardiest of the rarer firs in America. The following account of its history is from the Garden:

" In that interesting work, ' The Colonies,' written by the late General Sir Charles Napier when Governor of Cephalonia, much useful information is given regarding the above interesting and ornamental tree, although at the same time it may be inferred from the text that he was not at that time aware of its being a distinct and unrecognized species, for in speaking of it he says: ' It is well known to planters that firs grown in high and exposed situations possess great durability; and this is the case with firs growing on the Black Mountain, the wood of which is of the hardest texture.' The Black Mountain, of which it is a native - so-called from the dark appearance given it by these trees - runs in the interior of Cephalonia from north-west to south-east, the highest point, the ancient Mount Enos, being 5,000 feet above sea level. This latter was at one time, during the seventeenth century, covered with a dense forest of Abies Cephalonica, and from which a good revenue was obtained, but of late years, through the ravages of fire and neglect of preservation, much of the original forest has been destroyed and the name Black Mountain is now rendered, in the true sense of the word, almost meaningless, and more so by the general whitish appearance caused by the limestone formation of the rock.

In these, its native haunts, it attains an average height of 60 feet with a trunk diameter of 4 feet, the largest and finest timber being produced in the gorges and valleys where partial shelter is secured, the highest rocks and ridges being cold and bleak, and in most places with but a slight coating of earth atop".