42 



TREES OF NORTH AMERICA 



New England and New York, and the Alleghany Mountains to the high peaks of 

 North Carolina. 



Occasionally planted in the eastern states and in Europe as an ornamental tree, 

 but growing in cultivation more slowly than any other Spruce-tree. 



-H hBranchlets glabrous. 



3. Picea Canadensis, B., S. & P. White Spruce. 



Leaves crowded on the upper side of the branches by the twisting of those on the 

 lower side, i-sided, incurved, acute or acuminate and terminating in rigid callous 

 tips, pale blue and hoary when they first appear, becoming dark blue-green or pale 

 blue, marked on each of the 4 sides by 3 or 4 rows of stomata, ^-f long. Flowers: 

 staminate pale red, soon appearing yellow from the thick covering of pollen ; pis- 

 tillate oblong-cylindrical, with round nearly entire pale red or yellow-green scales, 

 broader than long, and nearly orbicular denticulate bracts. Fruit nearly sessile or 

 borne on short thin straight stems, oblong-cylindrical, slender, slightly narrowed to 

 the ends, rather obtuse at the apex, usually about 2' long, pale green sometimes 



tinged with red when 

 fully grown, becom- 

 ing at maturity pale 

 brown and lustrous, 

 with nearly orbicu- 

 lar scales, rounded, 

 truncate, and slight- 

 ly emarginate, or 

 rarely narrowed at 

 the apex, and very 

 thin, flexible and 

 elastic at maturity, 

 usually deciduous in 

 the autumn or dur- 

 ing the following 



winter; seeds about i' long, pale brown, with narrow wings gradually widened 

 from the base to above the middle and very oblique at the apex. 



A tree, with disagreeable smelling foliage, sometimes 150 higU, with a trunk 

 3-4 in diameter, but east of the Rocky Mountains and especially toward the south- 

 eastern limits of its range rarely more than 60-70 tall, with a trunk not more 

 than 2 in diameter, long comparatively thick branches densely clothed with stout 

 rigid laterals sweeping out in graceful upward curves, and forming a broad-based 

 rather open pyramid often obtuse at the apex, stout glabrous branchlets orange- 

 brown during their first autumn and winter, gradually growing darker grayish 

 brown. Winter-buds broadly ovate, obtuse, covered by light chestnut-brown scales 

 with thin often refiexed ciliate margins. Bark I'-i' thick, separating irregularly 

 into thin plate-like light gray scales more or less tinged with brown on the surface. 

 Wood light, soft, not strong, straight-grained, light yellow, with hardly distinguish- 

 able sap wood; manufactured into lumber in the eastern provinces of Canada and 

 in Alaska, and used in construction, for the interior finish of buildings, and for paper 

 pulp. 



Distribution. Banks and borders of streams and lakes, ocean cliffs, and in the 



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