The Spanish Fir (Abies pinsapo), referred to in Spanish as 'Pinsapo', is one of the most appreciated plant relics of this area. It is an endemic tree species  which has both a high cultural and ecological value, although protected its status remains vulnerable. Once forming wide spreading forests which spanned the area there are now 3 mountain-side woodlands in South West Andalusia where this species can be seen. The ancestors of the Spanish Fir have their origins in the Tertiary period which dates from 65 million years ago. During their earlier history southern Iberia was connected to the African continent and these trees may well have formed huge forests.

This species survived the last major glaciation and saw the formation of the Strait of Gibraltar at the mouth of the Mediterranean sea. The current remaining woodlands of Spanish firs are relegated to the Sierra del Pinar near Grazalema in the province of Cádiz, Sierra Bermeja (near Estepona) and Sierra de las Nieves (near Ronda), both in Málaga province.These ranges are clustered together in south westen Andalusia.

In 1837 two chemists from Málaga, Félix Haenseler and Pablo Prolongo, had already listed the 'Pinsapo' trees of the area in their herbal references. During this year they were to accompany the famed Botanist Edmund Boissier in his visit to the 'Pinsapo' woods of Sierra Bermeja, a mountain just north of the town of Estepona on the Costa del Sol coast.

In 1838 Edmund Boissier published a description of this unusual Spanish Fir tree in a scientific paper in Geneva, Switzerland (his country of origin) and named it Abies pinsapo.

In 1910 the Lobatón family who owned much of the Abies pinsapo woodland of Grazalema sold a great number of these trees to a railway company as timber to be made into railway sleepers. After the spring of this year many felled trees lay wasted in the field due to the company falling into financial difficulties.

That same year two British naturalists Buck and Chapman published the following damming phrase "Spanish fir forests are subject to a terrible destruction caused by axe and fire. In another 15 years they will have destroyed the last of the Pinsapo. " (From their book Unexplored Spain”)

Between 1914 and 1944 people connected to the natural environment, as well as cultural societies and the press recognised the plight of the Spanish Fir forests and recommended their protection.

In 1945 the State acquired the Spanish Firs in the municipality of Ronda and began the earliest protective measures by limiting grazing to allow natural reproduction and they also commenced the first re-planting work.

In 1972 the State acquired the mountains that form the Spanish Fir forest in Grazalema. They prohibited logging, grazing and began the first work for the prevention of forest fires.

1977 To ensure the protection and conservation of the Spanish Fir within their natural environment, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) declared the Sierra de Grazalema a Biosphere Reserve. It was one of the first natural areas of Spain to obtain this status.

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