CHAPTER VII: THE SPRUCES 



Family Conifer/e 



Genus PICEA, Link. 



Pyramidal cone-bearing evergreens, with tall, tapering 

 trunks and slender horizontal branches ending in stout twigs. 

 Roots long, tough, fibrous. Leaves 4-angled, stiff, pointed, 

 solitary, spirally arranged, each set on a prominent, woody pro- 

 jection. Flowers monoecious, solitary, in conical aments on 

 new shoots. Fruits pendant, woody, annual cones. Wood 

 soft, straight grained, valuable. 



KEY TO SPECIES 



A. Leaves distinctly 4-angled. 

 B. Branchlets pubescent. 



C. Leaves blue-green, short. 



D. Cones ovate, ^ to i^- inches long, persistent, 



foliage spiny. {Picea Mariana) black spruce 

 DD. Cones oblong, i to 3 inches long, deciduous; 

 foliage soft and flexible. 



{Picea Engelmanni) engelmann spruce 

 CC. Leaves yellow-green, spiny, cones i to 2^ inches 



long, early deciduous. {Picea riibens) red spruce 

 BB. Branchlets smooth ; leaves spiny, incurving, blue- 

 green. 

 C. Cones slender; scales entire, flexible, blunt; leaves 

 strong smelling, ^ to f inch long. 



{Picea Canadensis) white spruce 

 CC. Cones stout, scales, ridged, pointed; leaves \ to 

 \\ inches long. 



{Picea Parryana) Colorado blue spruce 

 AA. Leaves more or less flattened; cones 2 to 5 inches long. 

 B. Branchlets pubescent, pendulous; leaves blunt; cone 

 scales entire, rounded. 



{Picea Breweriana) weeping spruce 

 BB. Branchlets smooth, erect; leaves pointed;, cone scales 



toothed, pointed. {Picea Sitchensis) sitka spruce 



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