Tian Shan Fir (Schrenk's Fir)

In Roman mythology, Flora was chosen as the goddess of flowering ears of grain, flowers, and gardens. Tatius erected an altar to her. During the festival of Flora, blooming ears of grain were brought to her altar. For some reason, the festival was forgotten. Perhaps it was because the games in honor of Flora were accompanied by cheerful debauchery, involving the common people and women of loose morals. The very name of the goddess became a term denoting the totality of all types of plants of a certain locality or geological period.

The origin of vegetation is explained much more restrainedly in the Quran: "He (Allah) has made the earth spread out for you, has made roads for you on it, sends down water from the heavens and brings forth plants of various kinds in pairs: eat and graze your cattle." As we can see, everything is said simply and succinctly: both how and why. It is man, in his fuss, who tries to comprehend why Allah has given this.

It is commonly believed that the main thing in nature is vegetation. This is even reflected in the names of landscape zones: desert, semi-desert, steppe, forest-meadow-steppe, alpine and subalpine meadows, tundra, rocky-snowy. Without noticing it, we, when characterizing a particular locality we have visited, first and foremost talk about its plant world. And this is understandable: plants are very sensitive to changes in soil, relief, altitude above sea level, and the impact of climatic factors, and therefore best reflect the characteristics of natural complexes.

It is easy to realize this now. However, it took scientists many decades to understand that plants are an element of the physiognomy of mother nature. It is indeed thanks to plants and, let’s be objective, animals that the hypothesis of a once-existing single drifting continent in the world ocean arose...

Some countries are fortunate. Draw a palm tree, and it is clear that we are talking about Africa. Depict a birch, and it means Russia. There is no ambiguity. It is harder for us. With the abundance of the plant world, it is perhaps impossible to name such a separate symbol. In general, for Central Asia, the symbolic tree is called the chinar. But, forgive me, is there a chinar in the mountains? Something is not quite right here. After all, life in the mountains is difficult! One must possess considerable ecological potential and ecological flexibility to live here. But such heroes can be found among both grasses and trees. Botanists call the queen of Tian Shan Schrenk's spruce. However, it is more often referred to as Tian Shan spruce. The royal title is well-deserved: for its majestic beauty and the role the tree plays in the life of Tian Shan. It grows powerful and straight as a candle, right on a steep slope. Its life is hard and varies greatly. Living at the lower limit of the spruce forest is one thing; being in the middle of the forest belt or at its upper part is quite another. And it is not easier for a single tree. A spruce is not a sunflower; it does not turn its head after the sun. One side of the tree is always facing the slope, while the other faces the open space. One side always heats up more than the other. And this continues for 200 years, or 300, or 500. Physiological processes on one side proceed faster than on the other. Thus, the southern side is always older than the northern one. As it ages, the large needles of the spruce become bluish. After all, each needle can live for about 30 years. An adult tree reaches a height of 45 meters — as they say, you look, and the crown falls. How does this giant hold on to the steep mountain slope? Here lies extraordinary wisdom. Usually, the roots of a tree, encountering an obstacle — a stone or rock — "go around" it, turning aside. The Tian Shan spruce, on the contrary, grows under the obstacle, wraps around it, and thus "anchors" itself. Such roots are called anchor roots — as opposed to those that nourish the tree and are located at the very surface, sometimes even directly on it, collecting moisture. The renewal of life in the spruce is also unique. Vegetation. No other coniferous tree has devised such a method. The lower branches, touching the ground, send out abundant roots. Gradually, feeling strength, the branch bends upward and transforms from lying down into a slender young tree. Over time, its branches also gain independent life. And so, generation after generation, they group around their "great-grandmothers" and "grandmothers." Indeed, one cannot trust the continuation of the lineage to seeds susceptible to the wind, although some of them may break through to independent life. Schrenk's spruce grows only in Tian Shan, and even then only in the mid-mountain zone. It cannot rise higher due to a lack of warmth. Descending into the valley is impossible due to a lack of moisture. In certain areas, the spruce grows either higher — for example, in the western regions of the Issyk-Kul basin, or lower — in the eastern part of the same basin. But it never descends below 1300 meters or rises above 3000 meters. The ability of the spruce to retain moisture is also unique. For example, spruce forests in Europe retain about 40% of moisture, while Schrenk's spruce retains up to 70%. Hence their mission as moisture regulators in the mountains. The spruce also has a terrible enemy. Despite the powerful anchor roots that allow it to withstand any storm, the ability to hold on not alone but as a family clan, regardless of its venerable age marked by a bluish-gray coating on the needles, the spruce is constantly threatened by snow avalanches. It is as if the tree, and not just one, is being cut down. Thus, the slopes of the mountains turn black with streaks devoid of any vegetation.