Flora of North America species comparison

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Picea sitchensis

Picea abies

Sitka spruce, épinette de Sitka

Norway spruce, épinette de norvège
Habit Trees to 80m; trunk to 5m diam.; crown narrowly conic. Trees to 30m; trunk to 2m diam.; crown conic.
Bark

grayish brown to orange-brown.

gray-brown, scaly.
Branches

somewhat drooping;

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

short and stout, the upper ascending, the lower drooping;

twigs stout, reddish brown, usually glabrous.
Buds

reddish brown, 5–10mm, apex rounded.

reddish brown, 5–7mm, apex acute.
Leaves

(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.

1–2.5cm, 4-angled in cross section, rigid, light to dark green, bearing stomates on all surfaces, apex blunt-tipped.
Seed

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.

cones (10–)12–16cm;

scales diamond-shaped, widest near middle, 18–30 × 15–20mm, thin and flexuous, margin at apex erose to toothed, apex extending 6–10mm beyond seed-wing impression.
2n

=24.

=24.

Picea sitchensis

Picea abies
Habitat Pacific coastal forests Woods and persisting after cultivation.
Elevation 0–900m (0–3000ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AK; CA; OR; WA; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
MN; probably elsewhere; Europe [Introduced in North America]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

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.)

Norway spruce, native to Europe, has become locally naturalized, at least in north central United States (and adjacent Canada). The species is the most widely cultivated spruce in North America; many cultivars exist, including dwarf shrubs.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 2. FNA vol. 2, p. 370.
Parent taxa Pinaceae > Picea Pinaceae > Picea
Sibling taxa
P. abies, P. breweriana, P. engelmannii, P. glauca, P. mariana, P. pungens, P. rubens
P. breweriana, P. engelmannii, P. glauca, P. mariana, P. pungens, P. rubens, P. sitchensis
Synonyms Pinus sitchensis, Abies falcata, Abies menziesii, P. falcata, P. menziesii, Pinus menziesii Pinus abies
Name authority (Bongard) Carrière (Linnaeus) H. Karsten: Deut. Fl. 2/3: 324. (1881)
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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