Fraser fir adelgid mortality. The decline of the Fraser fir in the southern Appalachians has contributed to loss of moss habitat which supports the spruce-fir moss spider. The Fraser fir is an endangered species. Threats include climate change, balsam woolly adelgid and destruction of trees for Christmas trees and timber. Although not important as a source of timber, Fraser fir is widely used as a Christmas tree. Its mild fragrance, shape, strong limbs, and ability to retain its soft needles (which do not prick easily when hanging ornaments) for a long time when cut make it one of the best trees for
Gold-Tree and Silver-Tree Gold-Tree and Silver-Tree Gold-Tree and Silver-Tree is a Scottish fairy tale collected by Joseph Jacobs in his "Celtic Fairy Tales". It is Aarne-Thompson type 709, Snow White. Others of this type include "Bella Venezia", "Nourie Hadig", "La petite Toute-Belle" and "Myrsina". A king had a wife, Silver-Tree, and a daughter, Gold-Tree. One day they walked by a pond, and Silver-Tree asked a trout if she was the most beautiful queen in the world, whereupon the trout said that Gold-Tree was more beautiful. Silver-Tree took to her bed and declared she would never be well unless she ate Gold-Tree's heart and