| All Spruced Up! |
| Location: Front lawn of
Ovalwood Hall |
| Spruce trees are among the most
popular evergreens for the home landscape. This is an excellent
place to compare three species of Spruce commonly used in
landscaping. On the far left is White Spruce (Picea glauca) which
grows in the boreal forest across Canada and the northern tier of
states. In the middle is Norway Spruce (Picea abies), a native of
Europe but naturalized in the northeastern United States. On the
far right is the Colorado Blue Spruce (Picea pungens), a native of the
Rocky Mountains. All belong to the Pine Family (Pinaceae).
Are the distinguishing features of these three spruces apparent? All of the spruces have relatively short, stiff needles (leaves). The needles are sharp pointed and four-sided. Roll a needle between your fingers and notice that it is like rolling a four-sided stick. All of the spruces also bear cones which produce either pollen (male cones) or seeds (female cones). Both are produced in Spring but only the female cones persist on the tree. These three spruces are old enough to produce cones. Find a female cone of each lying on the ground near the base of the tree. Cone scales of the spruces tend to be relatively thin and papery as compared with the thicker, woodier cone scales of Pine trees. The cones of the Norway Spruce are very large, pendulous, and often have sticky resin on the outside. Cones of the White Spruce are much smaller and light tan in color. Cones of Colorado Blue Spruce are intermediate in size. Other distinguishing features: Needles of White Spruce (left) smell like cat urine when crushed which explains why another common name for it is Cat Spruce! Branches of the Norway Spruce (middle) hang down like the ears of a hound dog. Colorado Blue Spruce gets its name from the blue color of its needles. This blue color is due to a very heavy coating of wax on the needle surfaces, an effective means of preventing water loss. Spruce wood is categorized as a softwood but is relatively strong. It is used for construction, pulp, furniture, and musical instruments. -- David Kramer
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