Adress
Josaphat Park
Schaarbeek
GPS coordinates :
50.8603
, 4.3913
Scientific inventory
Identity
Latin name :
Abies grandis
French name :
Sapin de Vancouver
Dutch name :
Reuzenzilverspar
English name :
Gran fir
Family :
Pinaceae
Height :
29 m
Targeted height :
Diameter of the crown :
8 m
Trunk circumference :
224 cm
Expected circumference :
600 cm
Expected longevity :
Can live for 200–400 years
Origin / Indigenous
West USA
Favorite soil :
Deep, well-draining
Favorite climate
Usefulness and services of the tree :
Enhances the landscape :
+++
sculpts the landscape, a landmark in the panorama
Enhances the biodiversity :
++
relatively rare species
Provide oxygen :
++
Purify the air :
++
medium but persistent foliage surface area
Filter the water :
-
Prevents flooding :
not relevant criterion: tree at the top of the slope
Stores carbon :
+
poorly durable and resistant heartwood
Softens the climate :
++
group shadow effect
Limits soil erosion :
+++
fixes the ground
Does good, heals :
+++
essential oils, Wood (boxes, paper, carpentry)
Belgian Federal State Collection on permanent loan to the Meise Botanical Garden. <https://www.plantentuinmeise.be/en/home/> Antoine, Die Coniferen, pl. 25, 1840
Linked trees - twinning
Belgium
Features and characters of the individual
This Gran Fir, one of the most beautiful specimens in Brussels, was chosen by the CIVA:
At the end of the 19th century, large landscaped parks were established in the municipalities surrounding Brussels, including the Josaphat Park. The tree is at the centre of landscape construction. Thanks to a clever composition of isolated trees, massifs, forests and the introduction, sometimes discreet and sometimes more intense, of new exotic species, the city's range of plants is greatly enriched.
Exotic trees, including Vancouver's Cedar and Fir, are religiously placed in the park to highlight the other components of its environment, including the soft undulations of the terrain, the ponds' layouts and the shape of the sculptures. These new tree species arouse the visitor's curiosity, who is attracted by the refined work of landscape architects on the contrasts in shapes, tones and textures of these trees, as well as their harmony with other landscape elements (CIVA,2018).
This Gran Fir overlooks: - "a picturesque rocky landscape where a stream flows in cascades. In accordance with the encyclopedic spirit of the 19th century, the park was also intended to be a botanical garden. It has remained so, on the one hand because of the variety of species it contains (lime trees, beech trees, maples, oaks, ash trees, birches, plane trees, magnolias, catalpas, oaks, black pines, hawthorns, elm trees, chestnut trees, poplars of Canada,...), and on the other hand because of the presence of rare specimens like bald cypress or tulip tree of Virginia. (Inventory of natural heritage, Brussels Capital Region).
Activity
The CIVA invites you to discover the Josaphat Park, its history, and some of the trees that inhabit it as part of "Designed Landscapes". https://civa.brussels/fr/expos-events/designed-landscapes-brussels-1775-2020
More info (FR/NL)
http://arbres-inventaire.irisnet.be/sites.php?id=172 http://bomen-inventaris.irisnet.be/sites.php?id=172
The Vancouver fir can be found in the postcard below: on the rock cascade, top left, next to a gentleman wearing a bowler hat ;)
