SPRUCE 195 



bloom, passing to pale reddish-brown, shortly stalked, often 

 in pairs. 



(ft) Long shoots only distinguishable; leaves 

 isolated, acicular or linear, and always 

 spirally inserted, though often twisted 

 out of position. 



* Needles acicular, 4-angled, crowded and 

 somewhat curved forward, but hardly 

 pseudo-distichous; cone cylindroid, 100 

 150 inm. long, pendulous and falling as 

 a whole ; scales thin, notched and striate, 

 and somewhat loosely imbricated ; carpel- 

 lary scales not exserted. $ cones about 

 20 mm., pinkish-yellow, cylindroid. Seed- 

 wing separable, embracing the seed as in 

 the bowl of a spoon. 



Picea excelsa, Lk. Spruce (Fig. 53). A large cylin- 

 droid tree, with thin reddish-brown periderm passing to 

 brown scaly bark; foliage dark, the branches sweeping 

 downwards and curved forwards. Leaves on prominent 

 cushion-like bases, about 10 to 25 mm. long, mucronate. 



Male flowers on long stalks, isolated in leaf-axils, 20 

 27 mm. long, with pale green basal bracts; ovoid or sub- 

 globose when young, and, owing to the purplish brilliant 

 red imbricated anthers, very conspicuous and resembling 

 strawberries. Stamens red, pollen-sacs yellow. After 

 anthesis golden-yellow from the pollen clinging to the 

 elongated and curved pollen-sacs. 



Female flowers sessile at the tips of the preceding 

 year's shoots at the apex of the tree ; at first erect and 

 4 5 cm. long, cylindroid, with thin, emarginate or toothed, 

 carmine to purplish-red ovular scales. Ripe cones pendent 



132 



