Flora of North America species comparison

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Picea mariana

Picea sitchensis

black spruce, épinette noire

Sitka spruce, épinette de Sitka
Habit Trees to 25m (often shrublike); trunk to 0.25m diam.; crown narrowly conic to spirelike. Trees to 80m; trunk to 5m diam.; crown narrowly conic.
Bark

gray-brown.

grayish brown to orange-brown.
Branches

short and drooping, frequently layering;

twigs not pendent, rather slender, yellow-brown, pubescent.

somewhat drooping;

twigs not pendent, rather stout, pinkish brown, glabrous.
Buds

gray-brown, ca. 3mm, apex acute.

reddish brown, 5–10mm, apex rounded.
Leaves

0.6–1.5(–2)cm, 4-angled in cross section, rigid, pale blue-green, glaucous, bearing stomates on all surfaces, apex mostly blunt-tipped.

(1.2–)1.5–2.5(–3)cm, flattened or broadly triangular in cross section (abaxial surface rounded or slightly angular), rather rigid, blue-green to light yellow-green, abaxial surface darker green with stomatal bands very narrow or absent, adaxial surface glaucous with conspicuous stomatal bands separated by ridge, apex sharp-pointed.
Seed

cones 1.5–2.5(–3.5)cm;

scales fan-shaped, broadest near apex, 8–12 × 8–12mm, rigid, margin at apex irregularly toothed.

cones 5–9(–10)cm;

scales variable, elliptic to narrowly diamond-shaped, 15–22 × 12–16mm, rather rigid, margin at apex erose, apex extending 4–8mm beyond seed-wing impression.
2n

=24.

=24.

Picea mariana

Picea sitchensis
Habitat Muskegs, bogs, bottomlands, dry peatlands Pacific coastal forests
Elevation 0–1500m (0–4900ft) 0–900m (0–3000ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AK; CT; MA; ME; MI; MN; NH; NJ; NY; PA; RI; VT; WI; AB; BC; MB; NB; NF; NS; NT; ON; PE; QC; SK; YT; SPM
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AK; CA; OR; WA; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

To a limited extent, Picea mariana hybridizes with P. rubens, e.g., on disturbed sites in eastern Canada. Natural hybridization with P. glauca, though reported, remains unverified (A.G. Gordon 1976).

Because Picea mariana is a small tree, it has limited commercial value. Frequently it is harvested with P. glauca and used for pulp.

Black spruce (Picea mariana) is the provincial tree of Newfoundland.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Picea sitchensis intergrades extensively with P. glauca in the river inlets of north coastal British Columbia and coastal Alaska. The name P. × lutzii Little is applied to hybrids between the two species (R.Daubenmire 1968).

Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) is the state tree of Alaska.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 2. FNA vol. 2.
Parent taxa Pinaceae > Picea Pinaceae > Picea
Sibling taxa
P. abies, P. breweriana, P. engelmannii, P. glauca, P. pungens, P. rubens, P. sitchensis
P. abies, P. breweriana, P. engelmannii, P. glauca, P. mariana, P. pungens, P. rubens
Synonyms Abies mariana, P. brevifolia, P. mariana var. brevifolia, P. nigra, Pinus nigra Pinus sitchensis, Abies falcata, Abies menziesii, P. falcata, P. menziesii, Pinus menziesii
Name authority (Miller) Britton: Prelim. Cat. 71. (1888) (Bongard) Carrière
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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