Picea 1387 



PICEA ENGELMANNI, Engelmann's Spruce 



Picea Engelmanni, Engelmann, in Trans. St. Louis Acad. ii. 212 (1863), and in Gard. Chron. 1863, 

 p. 1035 ; Sargent, Silva N. Amer. xii. 43, t. 599 (1898), and Trees N.Amer. 43 (1905); Kent, 

 Veitch's iJ/a«. Conif. 431 (1900); Britton, N. Amer. Trees, 59 (1908); Clinton-Baker, Illust. 

 Conif. ii. 37 (1909). 



Picea Columbiana, Lemmon, in Garden and Forest, x. 183 (1897). 



Picea pseudopungens, Dieck.i Verkaufs-Verzeichniss Zoschen, 28 (1904). 



Abies Engelmanni, Parry, in Trans. St. Louis Acad. ii. 122 (1863). 



Abies commutata, Murray, in Gard. Chron. iii. 106 (1875). 



Pinus commutata, Parlatore, in De Candolle, Prod. xvi. 2, p. 417 (1868). 



A tree with disagreeably smelling foliage, attaining in America 150 ft. in height 

 and 15 ft. in girth, though usually considerably smaller. Bark reddish, exuding resin, 

 with thin loose scales. Young branchlets greyish yellow, with a sparse minute erect 

 glandular pubescence. Buds conical, about \ in. long, obtuse at the apex ; the terminal 

 bud closely surrounded at the base by the uppermost leaves ; scales scarious, rounded, 

 without resin. 



Leaves, arranged on lateral branches as in P. excelsa, | to i in. long, soft and 

 flexible, tapering towards the apex, which ends in a sharp point ; bluish green in 

 colour, with a cat-like odour when bruised ; quadrangular in section, with four to five 

 stomatic lines on each side. 



Cones horizontal at first, ultimately pendulous, sessile, green tinged with scarlet 

 when growing, light brown when ripe, cylindrical but narrowed at both ends ; very 

 variable in size, i^- to 3 in. long : scales numerous, thin and flexible, rhombic or ovate, 

 minutely pubescent in the lower half, longer than broad, f in, wide, with their upper 

 margin truncate or rounded and lacerate : bract ^ in. long, with an oblong claw, and 

 an oval expanded denticulate lamina. Seed about ^ in. long, dark brown ; seed with 

 wing 3^ in. long ; wing broadest near the rounded oblique faintly denticulate apex. 



This species resembles P. alba in the peculiar odour of the leaves, but is readily 

 distinguishable by the very sparse minute pubescence on the branchlets. 



Varieties 



1. Forms with glaucous or silvery foliage appear in the seed-bed, and are known 

 as var. glauca and var. argentea. The tree, however, usually cultivated under the 

 name P. Engelmanni glauca is a form of P. pungens, agreeing with the latter species 

 in having glabrous branchlets and peculiar buds with reflexed scales. 



2. Var. microphylla, Hesse. A dwarf form with short leaves, mentioned by 

 Beissner, Nadelholzkunde, 345 (1891). 



3. Var. Fendleri, Henry (var. nova). 



At Kew one of the tallest spruce trees has long been labelled P. Engelmanni, 

 but differs remarkably from that species in habit. Young branchlets pendulous, 



» Dieck, Neuh. Offert. Zoschen, 1892, p. 38, mentions Abies Engelmanni, var. pseudopungens, as a supposed new variety, 

 raised from seed collected by Purpus north of Lytton in British Columbia. 



