Picea abies - Norway Spruce

General Information Common Name  Norway Spruce Scientific Name  Picea abies Sun Tolerance  Full Sun Height  35 - 55  m (115 - 180 ft) Spread  10 -15 m (33 - 50 ft) Growth Rate  Fast Bloom Time  Spring Color  Green, Flower Color  Pink Type  Tree Native  USA, Asia, Europe.

Classification Kingdom  Plantae – Plants Subkingdom  Tracheobionta – Vascular plants Superdivision Spermatophyta – Seed plants Division  Coniferophyta – Conifers Class  Pinopsida Subclass  Order  Pinales Family  Pinaceae – Pine family Genus  Picea Diert –  Spruce Species  P. abies

Picea abies - Norway Spruce

Picea abies commonly known as Norway Spruce, is native to Europe. It is one of European best known conifers, being her traditional Christmas Tree. It is introduced from Europe or Scandinavia around 1500, and increasingly planted all other countries from the seventeenth century. It is a large and fast-growing evergreen coniferous tree that grows 35–55 m (115–180 ft) in height and with a trunk diameter of 1 - 1.5 m (3-6 ft). It grows fast when young, up to 1 m (3 ft) per year for the first 25 years under good conditions, after that becomes slower once over 20 m (66 ft) in height. Sometimes it grows over 55 m (180 ft). The tallest measured Norway spruce, 62 m (204 ft) in height, grows near Ribnica na Pohorju, Slovenia.

The young shoots are reddish-brown to orange-red. The buds are yellow-brown smooth, pointed, and free of resin. The needles are light to dark green, stiff, up to 2.5 cm long, four-sided, and end in a point which is not harshly sharp. They lie in a shallow plane with distinct upper and lower sides. Each needle stands on a little peg projecting from the twig and when pulled away, the peg goes with the needle, accompanied by a short strip of bark; needles that fall naturally leave their pegs behind. The new pale green needles which appear in June fringe the edges of all the branches, giving the tree its best appearance.

The flowers of both sexes are found on the same tree. The clusters of stalked male catkins are about 2.5 cm long, oval, pendulous or spreading, red at first but becoming yellow in May. The female flowers usually higher up the tree; are small oval erect structures, stalk-less and green or even crimson-colored. After fertilization the conelets change to green or violet-purple, and gradually turn over until in the autumn they are pendent, long cylindrical cones, becoming light reddish-brown in the process and 10-15 cm long with compact scales having a texture like tough paper. The cones, usually towards the top of the tree, fall some considerable time after most of the winged seeds have been released in mid-autumn.

Picea abies - Norway Spruce

The bark is reddish-brown at first, and looks smooth – though rough to the touch because of small fibrous scales or small irregularities. Later it becomes greyish-brown with a reddish sheen on the exposed side and breaks into small, thin, scales; in all but very old trees it remains thin. The tree is at first conical in shape, later developing a narrow crown, with short sometimes drooping branches. The base usually broadens and is often buttressed. The wood is tough and elastic, but has no natural durability out of doors, and its heartwood is hard to treat with preservatives. White to pale yellow in color, without color distinction of heartwood and sapwood, it is much used for box-making, interior joinery and carpentry, paper pulp, chipboard, pit-props, and general purposes. In the trade it is usually called ‘white wood’.

Foresters find this tree in some respects more accommodating than Sitka Spruce, and it grows better than Sitka in the drier eastern parts. However, Norway Spruce in general is more sensitive to exposure, less wind-firm, slower growing, and produces a smaller volume of timber. Yet it will thrive under frosty conditions in Europe where Sitka will not. In young pole-stage regimented plantations, the straw colored leader is prominent feature.

Picea abies - Norway Spruce

Leaves of Norway Spruce

Norway Spruce Leaves

Leaves of Picea abies

Picea abies Leaves

Picea abies - Norway Spruce Leaves with Male Cone

Norway Spruce Male Cone

Picea abies Male Cone

Norway Spruce Female Cone

Female Cones of Norway Spruce

Picea abies Female Cone

Picea abies - Norway Spruce Female Cones

Picea abies - Norway Spruce Female Cones

Picea abies - Norway Spruce

Bark of Norway Spruce

Norway Spruce Log

Picea abies Log

Picea abies - Norway Spruce as Christmas Tree

Picea abies as Christmas Tree

Norway Spruce as Christmas Tree

Christmas Tree

Picea abies - Norway Spruce

Picea abies - Norway Spruce as Ornamental Tree

Picea abies as Ornamental Plant

Picea abies - Norway Spruce

Picea abies - Norway Spruce

Picea abies - Norway Spruce

Picea abies - Norway Spruce

Norway Spruce Forest

Picea abies - Norway Spruce

Picea abies - Norway Spruce Video: