See also: North Carolina State Symbols and Official Adoptions main page
The General Assembly of 2005 adopted the Fraser Fir as the official Christmas Tree for the State of North Carolina (Session Laws, 2005, c. 387).
Selection as State Christmas Tree
This law is the result of the hard work of Eighth Grade students at Harris Middle School in Spruce Pine, who researched the economic impact of the Fraser Fir industry on the state, and suggested this species as a new state symbol.
About the Fraser Fir
The Fraser fir (Abies fraseri) derives its name from John Fraser, a Scottish botanist who explored the Appalachian Mountains in the 1700's, and was a collaborator and competitor with Andre Michaux (see Carolina Lily). Fraser firs, which are native to the Appalachian Mountains, can reach a height of 80 feet and may have trunks as large as 18 inches in diameter.
The Fraser Fir can take as long as 12 years to grow to retail Christmas Tree height (6-7 feet), and will be visited by the grower more than 100 times during its life. The Fraser Fir has been chosen a number of times as the White House Christmas Tree, and constitutes a large percentage of Christmas tree production in North Carolina.
As of 2018, North Carolina grown Fraser fir Christmas trees have been chosen to grace the Blue Room of the White House thirteen times, most recently in 2018.
North Carolina Session Laws, 2005. c. 387, HOUSE BILL 1316
AN ACT ADOPTING THE FRASER FIR AS THE OFFICIAL CHRISTMAS TREE OF THE STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA AND THE SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN BROOK TROUT AS THE OFFICIAL FRESHWATER TROUT OF NORTH CAROLINA.
Whereas, North Carolina has 1,500 Christmas tree growers and produces more trees than any other state except Oregon; and
Whereas, North Carolina tree growers produce over 50 million Fraser firs each year; and
Whereas, the Fraser fir constitutes more than 90% of all the Christmas trees grown in North Carolina; and
Whereas, the Fraser fir is named for John Fraser, a Scottish botanist who explored the Southern Appalachian mountains of North Carolina in the late 1700s; and
Whereas, the Fraser fir is a pyramid-shaped tree that reaches a maximum height of 80 feet and a trunk diameter of one to one and one-half feet; and
Whereas, the Fraser fir grows naturally only in the Southern Appalachians; and
Whereas, Fraser fir trees grown in North Carolina have won the National Christmas Tree Association's annual tree competition more than any other species...