PINACEAE 



Red Spruce 

 Picea rubens Sarg. (Picea rubra Link) 



HABIT. A tree 70-80 feet high and 11^-2 feet in diameter 

 (max. 120 by 3Vi feet); slender, symmetrical bole; grown narrow 

 and conical with long branches. 



LEAVES. Extending at nearly right angles from all sides of 

 twig; Yz-Yq inch long; 4-angled; dark yellow-green; blunt 

 or pointed at apex. 



FLOWERS. Male bright red at maturity; female on different 

 branches, red-green. 



FRUIT. 114-2 inches long; ovoid-oblong; nearly sessile; 

 cone scales rigid, rounded, and smooth at apex; light green or 

 purplish before shedding seed, becoming red-brown and falling 

 the first winter or following spring. Seed: Va inch long, dark 

 brown, wing i4 inch long. 



TWIGS. More or less pubescent at first, becoming smooth 

 second year; orange-brown. Winter buds: V^-Yi inch long, 

 ovoid, acute, red-brown. 



BARK. Thin, Va-Vi inch thick; gray-brown to red-brown, 

 with red-brown inner bark; separating into irregular, close 

 scales. 



WOOD. Important; light; soft; even-grained; lustrous; used 

 for lumber, pulp, musical instruments, containers, etc. 



SILVICAL CHARACTERS. Very tolerant, though growing 

 slowly under heavy shade; long-lived, attaining age of 400 

 years; good reproduction; spreading root system; susceptible 

 to damage by fire and wind throw. 



HABITAT. Varied, ranging from swamps and bogs where 

 growth is slow to mountain tops; best growth on well-drained 

 uplands and mountain slopes; in pure stands or mixed with 

 yellow birch, beech, maple, white pine and hemlock on better 

 sites and with black sprace, balsam fir, tamarack, and red maple 

 on swampy sites. The common spruce in the mountains of New 

 York and New England and with white pine the most important 

 timber species in this region. 



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