Tuesday, May 31, 2016

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
SuperdivisionSpermatophyta – 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: 






Monday, May 9, 2016

Larix kaempferi - Japanese Larch

General Information
Common Name Japanese Larch
Scientific Name Larix kaempferi
Sun Tolerance Full Sun
Height 20 to 40 m (66 - 132 ft)
Spread 10 -15 m (33 - 48 ft)
Growth Rate Fast
Bloom Time Spring
Color Green,
Flower Color Green
Type Tree
Native Africa, Asia, Europe, USA.
Classification
Kingdom Plantae – Plants
Subkingdom Tracheobionta – Vascular plants
SuperdivisionSpermatophyta – Seed plants
Division Coniferophyta – Conifers
Class Pinopsida
Subclass 
Order Pinales
Family Pinaceae – Pine family
Genus Larix Spach. –  Larch
Species L. daempferi

Larix kaempferi - Japanese Larch
Larix kaempferi commonly known as Japanese Larch is native to Japan. This species of larch is easily distinguished from the European Larch by its blue-green foliage in summer and the reddish appearance of its bare branches in winter.
It is a medium-sized to large deciduous coniferous tree. It is grows 20–40 m (66 – 132 ft) in height, with a trunk up to 1 m (3.3 ft) diameter. The crown is broad conic; both the main branches and the side branches are level, the side branches only rarely drooping.
The young terminal growth shoots are pendulous and long, russet colored, and by their second year are red with waxy bloom, shallowly furrowed, and roughened by needle bases of the previous year. The winter buds at their tips are reddish-brown and resinous; the buds at the sides are smaller. The pointed needles, 2.5-3.5 cm (1-1.5 in) long are scattered around the young shoots (‘juvenile’ foliage), but on the older twigs are in rosette of twenty to thirty, all springing from a short spur shoot. They are soft and blue-green, slightly wider than those of European Larch, with two stomatal bands beneath, and they fade to a rich orange color before they fall in autumn.
The flowers of both sexes are found on the same tree, and they are smaller than those of European Larch. They appear a little in advance of the needles. The small round brown males are set on the underside of the branches, and are pale yellow when ripe. The female conelets are erect and cream or greenish, with reflexed bracts. They later harden, and become brown squat and broad cones, with scales which are reflexed at their edges. The cones stand are erect, are rounded in outline, and are 2.5-3.5 cm (1-1.5 in) long. They ripen by October, and their scales open though the cones persist on the tree for an indefinite time.
The bark of young trees is at first smooth and reddish, becoming thick, brown and scaly or finely fissured with age. The branches are irregular, mostly horizontal and often the leader has a corkscrew formation is reddish-brown. It is coarse in texture and resinous but strong, hard and naturally durable, providing a multi-purpose timber, particularly used for fencing, gates, and estate repair work.
Foresters appreciate this tree as a fast starter, though not, overall, a producer of very high volume. It is practically free of canker, and is useful for suppressing ground vegetation, though it will not withstand shade itself.

Hybrid Larch, L. X eurolepis Henry, is a natural cross between European Larch and natural cross between European Larch and Japanese Larch first raised in 1897 (accidentally) and in 1904 (deliberately) at Dunkeld in Perthshire. It first arose through the chance cross-pollination of female flowers of Japanese Larch by male flowers of the European kind. It shows remarkable ‘hybrid vigour’, growing faster than either of its parents, and has been planted on a considerable scale, but seed is still scarce. Its botanical characteristics are variable, but intermediate between those of the two parents. 


Larix kaempferi - Japanese Larch

Leaves of Japanese Larch

Larix kaempferi - Japanese Larch Leaves

Leaves Japanese Larch

Larix kaempferi Flower

Flower of Japanese Larch

Larix kaempferi - Japanese Larch

Larix kaempferi - Japanese Larch

Larix kaempferi - Japanese Larch

Larix kaempferi - Japanese Larch

Larix kaempferi - Japanese Larch

Larix kaempferi - Japanese Larch

Young plants of Japanese Larch

Japanese Larch in Autumn

Larix kaempferi in Autumn

Japanese Larch in Wild

Forest of Japanese Larch

Larix kaempferi - Japanese Larch

Larix kaempferi - Japanese Larch

Larix kaempferi - Japanese Larch

Bark of Japanese Larch

Larix kaempferi - Japanese Larch

Larix kaempferi - Japanese Larch

Larix kaempferi - Japanese Larch

Larix kaempferi - Japanese Larch as Ornamental Plant
Video Japanese Larch: