Picea glauca

Picea glauca, commonly known as the white spruce, is a species of spruce native to the northern temperate and boreal forests in North America. It is also known by other names such as Canadian spruce, skunk spruce, cat spruce, and western white spruce.

Description

Picea glauca is a large evergreen coniferous tree that can grow up to 15–40 m tall (exceptionally 57 m tall) with a trunk diameter of up to 1 m. The bark is thin and scaly, flaking off in small circular plates 5–20 cm across. The crown is narrow - conic in young trees and cylindric in older trees. The shoots are pale buff-brown, glabrous (hairless) in the east of the range, but often pubescent in the west, and with prominent pulvini.

Distribution and habitat

The white spruce is native to the boreal forests of North America, from central Alaska east to Newfoundland, and south to northern Montana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, upstate New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. In Canada, it is found in all provinces and territories. It is also found in the northern parts of the United States, including the northern parts of the Great Lakes region and the northeastern states.

Uses

Picea glauca is widely used as a Christmas tree in North America, valued for its dense, attractive foliage, its firm branches, and its ability to hold its needles for a long time. It is also planted extensively as a windbreak in the prairie provinces of Canada. The wood is used for paper production, and the roots were used by the Algonquin people for basket weaving.

Conservation

While the white spruce is not currently considered a threatened species, it is susceptible to a number of pests and diseases, including the spruce budworm and the spruce beetle. Efforts are being made to manage these threats and ensure the continued survival of this important tree species.

See also

• Spruce
• Boreal forests
• Coniferous trees