SITKA SPRUCE 



(Picea Sitctiensis) 



THIS is largest of the spruces. In height and in girth of trunk no 

 other approaches it. The moist, warm climate of the north Pacific 

 slope is its favorite home, though its range extends far northward along 

 the islands and coast of Alaska. Toward the extreme limit of its habitat 

 it loses its splendid form and size and degenerates into a sprawling shrub. 

 The limit of the species southward lies in Mendocino county, California. 

 Its range in a north and south direction is not less than 2,000 miles; but 

 east and west the growth covers a mere ribbon facing the sea. It climbs 

 some of the British Columbia mountains, 5,000 feet, but it prefers the 

 low, wet valleys and flatlands, or the rainy and snowy slopes set to 

 catch the sea winds. There it is at its best, and the largest trunks are 

 200 feet high, fifteen feet in diameter, and about 850 years old. All 

 sizes less than this are found. It is not easy to name an average size 

 when variation runs from giants to dwarfs; but in regions where this 

 spruce is cut for lumber, the average height of mature trees is about 

 125 feet, with a diameter of four feet. 



Tideland spruce is one of its names. That has reference to its 

 habit of sticking close to the sea. Its other names are Menzies' spruce, 

 great tideland spruce, and western spruce. The last may be considered 

 its trade name in lumber markets, for it is seldom called anything else 

 when it is shipped east of the Rocky Mountains. The name is appro- 

 priate, except that other spruces grow in the West, and are equally en- 

 titled to the name. This applies particularly to Engelmann spruce of the 

 northern Rocky Mountain region; but its lumber and that cut from 

 Sitka spruce are not liable to be confused in the mind of anyone who is 

 acquainted with the two woods. The name Sitka refers to the town of 

 that name in Alaska. 



The leaves of this species are usually less than one inch in length, 

 and in color are light yellowish green. They stand out like bristles on 

 all sides of the twigs. Cones are from two to four inches long, and hang 

 by short stems, usually at the ends of twigs. They ripen the first year, 

 release their seeds, which fly away on small but ample wings, and the 

 cones drop during the fall and winter. Sitka spruce bark is generally 

 less than half an inch in thickness. Trunks which grow in forests prune 

 themselves well, and are usually clear of limbs from forty to eighty feet. 

 The bases of trees which grow on wet land are much enlarged like 

 cypress and tupelo, and lumbermen frequently cut above the swell, 

 leaving from 1,000 to 5,000 feet or more of lumber in the stump. Sitka 



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