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RED SPRUCE. 

 Picea rubra, (Du Roi) Dietrich. 



FORM A medium-sized tree usually reaching a height of 70-80 ft. with a diameter of 1J-2 

 ft., but may attain a height of 110 ft. with a diameter of 3 ft. Trunk straight, continuous, 

 slightly tapering, bearing long persisting lateral branches which are horizontal in the middle, 

 ascending above and drooping below. Crown narrow, conical in form. 



BAiRK Up to i of an inch in thickness and roughened by irregular, thin, close, reddish- 

 brown scales. 



TWIGS Rough, slender, light brown to dark brown, covered with pale to black hairs. 



BUDS Ovoid, sharp-pointed, i-i of an inch long, covered by overlapping sharp-pointed 

 reddish-brown scales. 



LEAVES About i-i of an inch long, 1/16 of an inch wide, 4-sided, yellowish-green, rounded 

 at apex, crowded, and pointing outward in all directions on twig, without real leaf- stalka 

 but raised on decurrent projections of bark, known as sterigmata. 



LEAF-SCARS Small, with a single bundle-scar, borne on decurrent projections of bark. 



FLOWERS Appear in April or May. Staminate and pistillate flowers separate, but appear 

 on the same tree. Staminate. oval, almost sessile, reddish in color. Pistillate cylindrical, 1 of 

 an inch long, and consist of rounded thin scales. 



FRUIT A cone about 1J-2 inches long, elongated-ovoid, short-stalked, maturing at the end 

 of first season; cone-scales rounded, reddish-brown, with entire margin. 



WOOD Non-porous; light, soft, not strong, pale in color, tinged with red, with resin pas- 

 sages present. Weighs 28.13 Ibs. per cubic foot. Used in the manufacture of paper pulp, 

 sounding boards for musical instruments, and construction. 



DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTICS The Red Spruce, sometimes known as the Spruce 

 Pine, can be distinguished from the Black Spruce by its larger cones, which usually fall 

 during the first winter, while those of the latter usually persist for a longer time. The cone- 

 scales of the Red Spruce are a clear brown and entire-margined, while those of the Black 

 Spruce are grayish-brown and more jagged. The needles of the Red Spruce are dark green to 

 yellowish-green, while those of the Black Spruce are bluish-green. It can readily be dis- 

 tinguished from the White Spruce and the Colorado Blue Spruce by its hairy twigs, and from 

 the Norway Spruce by its much smaller cones and absence of long pendulous branchlets. 



RANGE Newfoundland to Pennsylvania and south along the Alleghanies to Georgia, west to 

 Minnesota. Heavy stands occur upon the high mountains of western North Carolina. 



DISTRIBUTION IN PENNSYLVANIA Frequents the swamps of Monroe, Pike and a few 

 other counties. 



HABITAT Common upon mountain slopes and well drained upland, but also found on moun- 

 tain tops and on the margin of swamps and streams. 



IMPORTANCE OF THE SPECIES The Red Spruce is one of the most important species which 

 supply the wood used in the manufacture of paper pulp. Where natural regeneration is pos- 

 sible this species deserves to be developed, especially in places too wet for other species to 

 grow. In this State, the Bear Meadows in Centre county and the lake regions of Pike and, 

 Monroe counties, with their adjoining swamps, give excellent conditions for the natural develop- 

 ment of this species. 



