Norway spruce
Picea abies
Norway spruce,Épinette de norvège,European Spruce,Spruce,Common Spruce
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Description
An 1885 illustration of P. abies, showing the cones and leaves. Norway spruce is a large, fast-growing evergreen coniferous tree growing 35–55 m (115–180 ft) tall and with a trunk diameter of 1 to 1.5 m (39 to 59 in). It can grow fast when young, up to 1 m (3 ft) per year for the first 25 years under good conditions, but becomes slower once over 20 m (65 ft) tall. The shoots are orange-brown and glabrous (hairless). The leaves are needle-like with blunt tips, 12–24 mm (⁄32–⁄16 in) long, quadrangular in cross-section (not flattened), and dark green on all four sides with inconspicuous stomatal lines. The seed cones are 9–17 cm (3 ⁄2–6 ⁄4 in) long (the longest of any spruce), and have bluntly to sharply triangular-pointed scale tips. They are green or reddish, maturing brown 5–7 months after pollination. The seeds are black, 4–5 mm (⁄32–⁄16 in) long, with a pale brown 15-millimetre (⁄8-inch) wing.The tallest measured Norway spruce is 62.26 m (204 ft) tall and grows near Ribnica na Pohorju, Slovenia.
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Taxonomy
Order
Pinales
Family
Pinaceae
Genus
Picea
Characteristics
Bloom Time
Spring, Late spring or early summer, Summer
Plant Type
Tree
Lifespan
Perennial, Woody
Flower
Yellow-brown male flowers and purple female flowers.
Fruit
4-6 in chestnut brown pendulous cones with thin scales that are irregularly toothed and cylindrical. Cone color may include: pink and brown. Cones are 4-6" long and 1-2" in diameter.
How to Grow
Water
Wet, Wet Mesic, Mesic, Dry Mesic, Dry
Sunlight
Full Sun, Full Sun to Partial Shade, Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day), Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Benefits
Attracts
Songbirds