Picea glauca, White Spruce



Tips for identifying spruce: leaves angular in cross section (except for P. omorika), twigs roughened with persistent leaf bases, pendulous cylindrical cones don't shatter at maturity

Size: tree, 40-60' average height at maturity

Buds: up to .25" long, chestnut brown, not resinous

Leaves: evergreen, radially arranged on upper side of stem, .5-.75" long, curving, horny points, quadrangular in cross section, glaucous green or blue-green, 2-5 bands of stomata on each face of needle

Twigs: slender, glabrous, dark yellow-brown or pale brown in second year

Flowers: monoecious, males pale red becoming yellow, females purple

Fruit: pendulous cylindrical cones, 1-2.5" long, .5-.75" wide, green or purple when young, light brown later

Bark: ashy brown, thin, flaky, scaly