PHYTOLACCA 



Common in clearings. A variegated form once cult, for 

 ornament is shown in R.H. 1KS7, p. lu.the Ivs. liglit green 

 above often shaded rose and more or less margined 

 white, beneath pale rose to violet. 



Lyster H. Dewey and W. M. 



PlCEA (ancient Latin name derived from pix, pitch). 

 ('•iiiUera. Spruce. Ornamental evergreen trees of 

 pyramidal habitwith spreading whorled branches clothed 

 densely with iu-i.-nhir vi.irMllv arranged Ivs. About 18 

 species in tlir •■■•<•'.■ r .ml i. irjperate climates of the 

 northern henii-i . arctic circle to the high 



mountains of tl. iq ^icms. Pyramidal trees, 



sometimes ilwar i. I : h . u-iialiy 4-angled with white 

 lines formed by numerous st<.inata arranged in rows and 

 on all 4 sides, or compressed and storaatiferous only on 

 the upper side which, ou the lateral branchlets, by 

 twisting of the leaf-stalk appears to be the lower one, 

 sessile and jointed at the base to a short stalk projected 

 from a prominent cushion, called a pulvinus : fls. monce- 

 cious, catkin-like, terminal or axillary; the staminate 

 yellow or red, consisting of numerous spirally arranged 

 anthers with the connective enlarged at the apex and 

 scale-like; the pistillate greenish or purple, consisting 

 of spirally arranged scales each subtended at the base 

 by a small bract and bearing two ovules at the inner 

 side: cones pendulous or spreading, with persistent 

 scales not separating from the axis after shedding the 

 seeds, which are provided with a large and thin obovate 

 or oblong wing. The names Picea and Abies are often 

 exactly transposed by horticulturists and others. 



The catkin-like Hs. of the Spruce appear in spring and 

 are often very conspicuous by their bright red color. 

 These are followed by usually pendent cones, green 

 or purple before ripening and light to dark brown at 

 maturity. The Spruces are not only highly ornamental 

 but also very valuable forest trees, and as inhabitants 

 of cooler climates they are especially adapted for culti- 

 vation in northern regions. All are hardy north except 

 P. Smithiana and P. Sitchensis , but do not resist 

 heat and drought well; some, however, as P. ptingens, 

 orientalis, excelsa, and also P. alba and perhaps P. 

 Omorika, endure drought better than most others. For 

 ornamental park idantint; the Spnires belong to the most 



vahialil. •■'■■ ! -I. . II- nn : ml "f iIm' ^\ niraetrical habit 



and r,,| m I i. Iv a few, like P. 



orii,,/' , ... I „, are of slower 



growili ,111.1 ! '... • ' .:. 1. 1 Miialler parks and 



ga^drll:^, uii.l - ' Mii-ultural forms, 



which are ni..-i ...wing and some- 



times more ini.r. I ,. i . . . ! i.ii l.i-autiful. The 

 Spruces are mi. ; , ,. nnd wind-breaks, 



and also used f .. 1 . .1-. -, . -;. . ..[y /'. excelsa, which 



heiige plant and seems well adapted, with its rigid, 

 spiny Ivs. The Spnu'os thrive best in moderately moist, 



sandy loam, but v. .11 -i.,.,\ m :iliii...i any kind of soil 

 provided it r... .. ; wet and dry 



soils are equal i\ - : uorthem aspect 



are well suite-. I i-i .^i.i.i.-, ....i .. ili rive better in 



shady positions tiinu iuu>i uUn t < . ' .- A- tlu' roots 

 mostly spread horizontally near li ■ . -i , Spruces 



will grow in shallow soil and a. . ].|anted 



oven as rather large plants; tl.. . . i . ... . . .1 with 



success at any time of the year < ■,■. i ' .. 1.. i. iluj young 

 shoots are growing, hut if jiossilil.- av.ii.l transplanting 



I'ropagatcd by seeds, wbii-h ripen in fall and are usu- 

 ally kept dry and cool during the winter and sown in 

 .siiring outdoors in prepared beds or in frames or boxes. 

 The young seedlings should be shaded and watered in 

 dry weather and may remain a year or two before be- 

 ing transplanted in nursery rows when not sown Uu, 

 thickly. Varieties and rare'r kin.l ^ ar. ..ff.n in.-r. n . .1 

 by layers or by grafting on ser-.lli- - • ' • /• 

 i'icea nifca is used for forms of ti. : /• 



«t)7ra and»-ii6rn. Veneer-graftin. j ; . i_ . \._. 

 the greenhouse isusuallvemploM ci. 1.. -- . iiii.. .i.l . . I. ii 

 grafting with half-hardened wood. The dwarf' f.itnis 

 grow readily from cuttings under glass in August or fall 

 and given slight bottom heat in early spring; also most 

 other forms and species, especially those with thinner 

 anil finer branches, can be raised from cuttings. 



PICEA 



1331 



'I'l... S).ni.v-s :ir.- iii.[...i-t-.i.t I iivLr-r trees. The soft and 



I'-'.'. -ii:.!.i' ........i - ...ir.-h used for construc- 



1 1. ■., I ... .:.!..■. I i . -I . - and for fuel, also for 



-!.,; I ,: . ... i li- in the groimd. The 



l.,.il, -.1 ..III. [...1.. I- II-.. I i..i- tanning leather, and 

 the resinous exudations are sometimes employed in 

 medicine. From the Red and Black Spruce, Spruce 

 beer is made by boiling the branches with honey. 

 Spruces are often known in nur.series, especially in this 

 country, under the name of Abies. Alfred Rehder. 



1794. Cones of Piceas (X J-iV 



Largest one, F.pitttfieiis; lowest one, P. allni; upper right 



hand, P. nigra, var. brevifoiia. 



The Piceas embrace some of the most useful as well 



over fift>- \ . ,■! : I . : . .. , 1 ■ i . i...:i..iu, 



retain tli.-ir- |.\ r-.-.n.;.!,.! I.'. Ill :.i. I ;.. I. . ill |.:..l .■ an 



upward growfli. 'I'lu-y av. il.. m.. i .i . .mii i. .itlie 



while young from the Nc.n. .■ >| n,. . . i I i . . .....uu's 



Spruce. They grow on a ;■.. :.i .ii.i. ..| -..il , l.rar 

 crowding well and al-^" V'!' ..■ . ... ii n.i l.ni.e 



are used for wiu.l i .■ ' I ■ . a.n- 



siderably in coliu-. -■ i . . : i .. ; i: :i I. i.lue 



form of the P. /»»/.; 11 i.,' i .. . . ...la 



cold climate, is sul.j. .■' i.. 1 1., r,... a-,. - ..| il.. i. .1 -[.ider 

 in a warm climate and should not be planted south of 

 Philadelphia or St. Louis. There is a variety of P. alba 

 found in the Black Hills that stands extreme drought 

 better than the northern form and is largely planted on 

 the dry prairies of Nebraska and the Dakotas. It does 

 not, however, do as well in northern Illinois or farther 

 east as the northern variety. 



Picea Engelmamn, one of the gems of Colorado, 

 resembles P. alba more than it does its near neighbor 

 P. pungens, being of finer foliage and not as stiff- 

 branched as the latter. It is one of the few conifers 

 that will stand the extreme cold of St. Petersburg, 

 Russia, but on our western prairies it soon loses its 

 lower branches, as it seems to be unable to withstand 

 the hot and di^'ing winds of that section in late sum- 

 mer and early autumn. In the eastern states, however, 

 it does not have this fault, as the cooler and more 

 humid air seems to better agree with it. 



Another Colorado conifer, Picea piingens (the blue 

 form bcingcalled by some the "Queen of the Piceas "), is 

 a striking and noble tree, seeming to be hardy wherever 

 I. t. (I and on all varieties of soil. Strong, sturdy, and 

 'fin growth, its form alone would make it a strik- 

 iH-e in any landscape. Its beautiful color varies 

 I ; .1 li^'ht silvery hue in some specimens to a dark 

 i !;. . ahuost purple in others. In some specimens the 

 brani-lies are in distinct and regular whorls, resembling 

 A rnncaria excelsa. Undoubtedly the oldest and finest 

 specimens of this grand tree are found on the former 

 grounds of the late Robert Douglas, at Waukegan, 111. 

 These trees arc now 2.5 to 30 ft. high and show no signs 



