Picea sitchensis – Sitka Spruce

General Information Common Name  Sitka Spruce Scientific Name  Picea sitchensis Sun Tolerance  Full Sun Height  upto 100  m (upto 330 ft) Spread  15 - 30 m (50 - 100 ft) Growth Rate  Fast Bloom Time  Spring Color  Green, Flower Color  Yellow 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 –  Spruce Species  P. sitchensis

Picea sitchensis – Sitka Spruce

Picea sitchensis commonly known as Sitka spruce. Its introduced by David Douglas in 1831 is nowadays the most extensively planted tree in British forestry. It takes its name from the small seaport of Sitka in Alaska, but is found as a native southwards from that state to north California. It is a large growing tree, grow up to 100 m (330 ft), with huge trunk up to 5m (16 ft) in diameter.

The young shoots are light brown to pure white. The buds are ovoid and yellowish-brown and free of resin. The needles stand out stiffly around the shoot, and are bluish-green on the upper surface, with a prominent rib; the lower surface bears two bands of white stomata giving a blue or silvery appearance. The needles are flattened up to 2 cm long and have sharp horny points. Each needle stands on a little peg projecting from the twig; when pulled away, the peg goes with the needle, accompanied by a short strip of bark. In mass the needles give the tree a faintly blue sheen.

The flowers of both sexes are found on the same tree. The stalked male catkins are about 2.5 cm long, oval, pendulous or spreading, red at first but becoming yellow. The female flowers, usually higher up the tree, are small oval, erect structures, stalk less and crimson-colored; they have prominent bract which are eventually covered by the developing scales. The cone, 5-8 cm long and blunt-ended, has papery-textured scales with crinkled edges, and is light brown becoming whitish or pale yellow. It ripens in the first year, releasing the seeds early in autumn and then persisting on the tree for indefinite periods.

The bark is at first greyish-brown and looks smooth (though rough to the touch), later breaking into greyish-brown round scales, with somewhat raised edges (in appearance like small shallow saucers), which gradually flake away. The tree is at first conical in shape, later developing long lightly drooping branches and a rather thin crown. The base usually broadens out and is often buttressed. The wood is tough but has no natural durability out of doors; it is white to pale yellow in color – much used for box-making, interior joinery and carpentry, shed-building, paper pulp, chipboard, pit-props, and general purposes.

Foresters appreciate Sitka Spruce as a fine forest tree for the peaty hills and moors where the rainfall is heavy. It is more resistant to exposure and possibly more wind-firm than Norway Spruce and in general faster growing and produces a larger volume of timber. It can exceed 100 feet in thirty years and several trees are known over 150 feet and some exceed 20 feet in girth. Sitka particularly in drier areas is partially defoliated annually by the attacks of an aphis Elatobium abietina, making the tree appear much thinner foliaged than Norway Spruce. High moisture requirements make it unsuitable for the drier climates and soils of the south and east of Britain. 

This is also use as Christmas Trees. 

Picea sitchensis – Sitka Spruce

Picea sitchensis – Sitka Spruce Leaves

Leaves of Picea sitchensis – Sitka Spruce

Leaves of Picea sitchensis 

Leaves of Sitka Spruce

Picea sitchensis – Sitka Spruce Flowers

Picea sitchensis – Sitka Spruce Cone

Sitka Spruce Cone

Bark of Sitka Spruce

Log of Sitka Spruce

Picea sitchensis Logs

 Sitka Spruce Young Plant

Young Plants of Sitka Spruce

Picea sitchensis – Sitka Spruce

Picea sitchensis – Sitka Spruce

Picea sitchensis – Sitka Spruce

Picea sitchensis – Sitka Spruce

Picea sitchensis – Sitka Spruce as ornamental plant

Sitka Spruce Videos: 

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: