Alberta Spruce - Picea Glauca
Distribution
The Alberta Spruce is a medium-sized evergreen tree of the
species Picea and is native to the north of
 North America, being widely distributed across
central Alaska east to Newfoundland, and south to northern
Montana, Michigan and Maine plus a remote population can
be found in the Black Hills of South Dakota and Wyoming.
Its natural habitat is boreal forests (boreal: relating to
the forest areas of the Northern Temperate Zone that are
dominated by coniferous trees such as spruce, fir, and
pine), coniferous and mixed coniferous-hardwood forests,
growing well on loams, silt loams, and clays. Successful
growth restricts sites to low water table, well-drained
acidic mineral soils.
Alternative
Names
Alberta Spruce known as
Western White Spruce, Canadian Spruce, Alberta White Spruce,
Black Hills Spruce, Skunk Spruce, Cat Spruce, Porsild
Spruce, Picea Albertiana, Picea Canadensis, Picea Canadensis
Glauca, and Pinus Glauca. White Spruce is the Provincial
tree of Manitoba and the State tree of South Dakota.
Size and
Description
Growing 49-100 feet
/15-30m tall with exceptions reaching 131-feet /40m and a
trunk long and straight with diameter to over 3-feet /1m.
Branches are self-pruning and eventually leave the crown
residing on the top half of the tree. Bark on mature trees
is usually thin and flaky, scaly or smooth and is generally
light grey-brown and sheds off in small circular plates
2.0-inches /5-10 cm across. The Alberta Spruce crown is
narrow and conical in young trees, becoming cylindrical in
older trees. The shoots are pale buff-brown, hairless in the
east of the range, but often downy in the west, and with
prominent cushion like swelling at the base of the stalk of
a leaf or leaflet. Leaves are needle-like, 0.5-0.8-inch
/12-20mm long, shaped like a rhombus in cross-section, pale
greyish or bluish green above with several thin lines of
stomata (minute pores in the epidermis of a leaf or stem
through which gases and water vapor pass), and blue-white
below with two broad bands of stomata.
Interesting
Cones
The pendulous cones of the Alberta Spruce are slender and
cylindrical, 1.2-2.75 inches /3-7cm long and  0.6-inch /1.5cm across when closed, opening to
2.0-inches /2.5cm wide. They have thin, flexible scales
0.6-inch /15mm long, with a smoothly rounded exterior.
They are green to reddish, maturing light brown 4-6 months
after pollination. Seeds are black, 0.08-0.12-inches /2-3
mm long, with a slender, light brown wing 0.2-0.31-inches
/5-8 mm.
Dwarf
Variety
A dwarf cultivar of the Alberta Spruce, Picea Glauca Albertiana
Conica, is exceedingly popular as a garden plant. Leaves are
narrow and slender, as those normally found only on
one-year-old Alberta Spruce seedlings. Growth is very slow
being typically only 0.8-4.0- inches/ 2-10cm per year. Beware
as older specimens often revert to form, developing normal
adult foliage and growing much faster. Remove unwanted growth
to retain the much desired dwarf characteristics.
The Wood Is Used
For
Canada harvests wood from the Alberta Spruce for papermaking
and is of major economic significance. It is also proving very
useful as an excellent Christmas tree!
The wood is reasonably light, straight even grained,
hardwearing and is creamy white to straw color. The wood dries
easily and holds its form well combining moderate, strength,
and stiffness. These properties are commercially important for
pulpwood and lumber used for construction. Other uses include
specialty chests, cabinets, boxes, food containers, oars,
paddles and sounding boards.
Alberta Spruce - Picea
Glauca
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