Taxonomy
Family: Pinaceae
Habitat
Mesic woods, often in rich moist soil.
Associates
Distribution
Newfoundland and Labrador to AK, south to northern NY, MI, MN, SD, and British Columbia.
Morphology
Evergreen conifer to 25 m, the crown somewhat slender; twigs glabrous; needles 8-18 mm, glaucous, especially when young; winter bud obtuse, with obtuse, glabrous scales; cones ellipsoid to short-cylindric, 3.5-5 cm, deciduous, pale brown, the scales thin and flexible at the entire margin.
Notes
Flowers NA
Wetland indicator: FACU
The blue-green color of the needles is usually sufficient to distinguish this species from other native northeastern spruces, though it might be confused with planted specimens of Picea pungens (Colorado spruce) which has longer needles. The lack of hairs on the twigs and bud-scales is also diagnostic. Sometimes called cat spruce because the crushed or burned needles give off an odor similar to cat urine.
References
Gleason, Henry A. and A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of Vascular Plants of Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada. Second Ed.
The New York Botanical Garden. Bronx, NY
Michael Hough © 2018 |