Abies alba 'Schwarzwald'

A very attractive broom that has a very tight and flat-growing habit with glossy green foliage. This compact grower will be happiest in full sun and well-drained soil. This specimen will be 1 ft tall x 2 ft wide in 10 years. Needles are somewhat shorter, thicker and fleshier than those typical of the species, and are glossy and rich-green in color. 

Günter Eschrich, of Recklinghausen, Germany is credited with the origin and introduction of this cultivar in the late 1970s. Schwarzwald's ortet was a witch's broom that Eschrich found in the town of Badenweiler, Germany near the French border. Although 'Badenweiler' was the original (provisional) name, Eschrich later changed the cultivar name to 'Schwarzwald'. It is unknown at this time why he did so.