Handbook of Trees of the JSTort 



Sl'A'l'KS A.\l) (\\.\.\l 



The Red Spruce occasionally attains the 

 height of 100 ft., with trunk from 2-4 ft. in 

 diameter, but usually is considerably smaller. 

 When massed in the forests it develops a 

 straight columnar trunk vested in a rather 

 thin irregularly scaly reddish brown bark and 

 small horizontal branches. Isolated trees, ex- 

 tending their lower branches farther out, 

 downward and then curving gracefully upward, 

 form a wide and rather open pyramidal top. 

 It is one of the most abundant of the forest 

 trees of northern New York and New England, 

 where it is associated with the Hemlock, 

 Beech, Yellow Birch, Sugar Maple, Butternut, 

 etc. and in places forms quite exclusive tracts 

 of forest. 



The wood is light, a cu. ft. when absolutely 



dry weighing 28.57 lbs., and moderately soft, 



but strong and elastic and is valued for lumber 



for general construction purposes, flooring, 



etc. and particularly for sounding boards for 



musical instruments. It is also extensively 



used for paper-pulp and its resinous exudation 



yields a large part of the Spruce Gum of 



commerce. 2 



Leaves from %-% in. long, incurved, with acute 

 callous tips, lustrous darl^ green with 4 rows of 

 stomata above and 2 rows beneath on each side 

 of midrib : branchlets stout, pulw'scent. Flowers 

 open in May : staminate oblong-cylindrical ; pis- 

 tillate oblong with reflexed and thin rounded 

 scales and small bracts. Cones ovoid-oblong, 

 lVi-2 in. long on short straight or incurved stalks, 

 acute at apex with ri^id puherulous scales rounded 

 and entire or slightly eroded at apex, green or 

 purplish, mostly falling in autumn or early winter 

 and liec'oming brown : seeds dark brown, about Vh 

 in. long with wing broad and rounded above the 

 middle. 



1, Syn. P. rubra (Poir.) Diet. Ahi 

 Poir. (in part). 



2. A, W., I, 20. 



nigra 



