W.Va. bred Christmas tree thrives on farms, struggles in wild - Beckley, Bluefield & Lewisburg News, Weather, Sports

W.Va. bred Christmas tree thrives on farms, struggles in wild

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) -

A West Virginia variety of fir is flourishing on Christmas tree farms but it's struggling in the wild.

The Canaan fir grows in West Virginia's highlands. It's called the Canaan fir because tree farmers started growing firs from ones that were first collected in the Canaan Valley.

that the Canaan fir is a popular Christmas tree. Its needles aren't as sharp as those of a red spruce or a Norway spruce, and aren't as long as a white pine tree's needles.

But the state's wild Canaan firs are dwindling because of an insect called the Balsam woolly adelgid. Bartgis says the insect has killed about 80% of the state's wild balsam firs since the late 1980s.

Information from: WVPR-FM.

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