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Picea pungens Engelm.

Colorado spruce (en), Épicéa bleu (fr), Épicéa du Colorado (fr), Épicéa piquant (fr)

Species

Gymnosperms > Pinales > Pinaceae > Picea

Characteristics

Trees to 50m; trunk to 1.  diam.; crown broadly conic. Bark gray-brown. Branches slightly to strongly drooping; twigs not pendent, stout, yellow-brown, usually glabrous. Buds dark orange-brown, 6--12mm, apex rounded to acute. Leaves 1.6--3cm, 4-angled in cross section, rigid, blue-green, bearing stomates on all surfaces, apex spine-tipped. Seed cones (5--)6--11(--12)cm; scales elliptic to diamond-shaped, widest below middle, 15--22 ´ 10--15mm, rather stiff, margin at apex erose, apex extending 8--1  beyond seed-wing impression. 2 n =24.
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A medium sized tree. It grows 15-30 m high and spreads 3.7-5.5 m wide. The trunk is 90 cm across. It is cone shaped. The leaves are blue-green. The needles are single and stiff. They are 15-30 mm long with a very sharp point. They spread out all around the twigs. They tend to sweep upwards and curve forward. The twigs are stout. The seed cones are cylindrical and taper to the tip. They are 5-12 cm long. The scales are shiny and light brown. They are thin and flexible and loose fitting.
Life form perennial
Growth form tree
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention evergreen
Sexuality monoecy
Pollination anemogamy
Spread -
Mature width (meter) 1.5 - 2.5
Mature height (meter) 7.05 - 16.0
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) 0.5
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color -
Blooming months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Fruit color
Fruiting months
JanFebMar
AprMayJun
JulAugSep
OctNovDec
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway c3

Environment

It is a temperate plant. It is frost hardy. They are drought tolerant. They can grow on a variety of soils. It grows high in the Rocky Mountains in North America. It can tolerate drier soils than other spruces. It can also grow in damp ground. It suits hardiness zones 2-10. Arboretum Tasmania. Hobart Botanical Gardens.
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Banks of streams or on first benches above them, singly or in small groves, 2000-3300 metres.
Light 5-8
Soil humidity 3-6
Soil texture 1-6
Soil acidity 2-6
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 3-8

Usage

The needle tips are used to make jelly that is served with lamb or venison. It is also eaten with breakfast muffins.
Uses environmental use material medicinal social use wood
Edible barks flowers seeds shoots
Therapeutic use Antirheumatic (External) (leaf), Cold Remedy (leaf), Gastrointestinal Aid (unspecified)
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Plants are grown from seed. Selected varieties have been grown by grafting.
Mode cuttings graftings seedlings
Germination duration (days) 30 - 60
Germination temperacture (C°) 8
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment stratification
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Habit

Picea pungens habit picture by Andreas Ernst Neuwirth (cc-by-sa)
Picea pungens habit picture by Manuëlle (cc-by-sa)
Picea pungens habit picture by Manuëlle (cc-by-sa)

Leaf

Picea pungens leaf picture by Ernst Fürst (cc-by-sa)
Picea pungens leaf picture by didier didier dailly (cc-by-sa)
Picea pungens leaf picture by Nachtis (cc-by-sa)

Flower

Picea pungens flower picture by Donald P. (cc-by-sa)
Picea pungens flower picture by Robert Corrignan (cc-by-sa)
Picea pungens flower picture by @herbert (cc-by-sa)

Fruit

Picea pungens fruit picture by Anne de Rivaz (cc-by-sa)
Picea pungens fruit picture by Sarah Smadja (cc-by-sa)
Picea pungens fruit picture by Jean-Baptiste Giraudeau (cc-by-sa)

Distribution

Picea pungens world distribution map, present in Australia, Canada, and United States of America

Conservation status

Picea pungens threat status: Least Concern

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:30095300-2
WFO ID wfo-0000482615
COL ID 4HQ4J
BDTFX ID 49309
INPN ID 113442
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Picea commutata Pinus parryana Picea parryana Pinus armata Abies parlatorei Abies menziesii Picea pungens f. viridis Picea pungens f. glauca Picea pungens f. coerulea Picea pungens f. argentea Picea pungens f. kosteriana Picea pungens f. pendens Picea pungens f. hunnewelliana Picea pungens f. perpendicularis Picea pungens f. compacta Picea pungens var. compacta Picea menziesii var. parryana Abies menziesii var. parryana Abies commutata var. glauca Picea pungens var. viridis Picea pungens var. glauca Picea pungens var. kosteriana Picea pungens var. pendula Picea pungens var. hunnewelliana Picea pungens f. glauca-pendula Picea menziesii Picea pungens
WorldFloraDB 2024