Flora of North America species comparison

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Picea sitchensis

Picea mariana

Sitka spruce, épinette de Sitka

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

grayish brown to orange-brown.

gray-brown.
Branches

somewhat drooping;

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

short and drooping, frequently layering;

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

reddish brown, 5–10mm, apex rounded.

gray-brown, ca. 3mm, 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.

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.
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 1.5–2.5(–3.5)cm;

scales fan-shaped, broadest near apex, 8–12 × 8–12mm, rigid, margin at apex irregularly toothed.
2n

=24.

=24.

Picea sitchensis

Picea mariana
Habitat Pacific coastal forests Muskegs, bogs, bottomlands, dry peatlands
Elevation 0–900m (0–3000ft) 0–1500m (0–4900ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AK; CA; OR; WA; BC
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
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]
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.)

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.)
Source FNA vol. 2. FNA vol. 2.
Parent taxa Pinaceae > Picea Pinaceae > Picea
Sibling taxa
P. abies, P. breweriana, P. engelmannii, P. glauca, P. mariana, P. pungens, P. rubens
P. abies, P. breweriana, P. engelmannii, P. glauca, P. pungens, P. rubens, P. sitchensis
Synonyms Pinus sitchensis, Abies falcata, Abies menziesii, P. falcata, P. menziesii, Pinus menziesii Abies mariana, P. brevifolia, P. mariana var. brevifolia, P. nigra, Pinus nigra
Name authority (Bongard) Carrière (Miller) Britton: Prelim. Cat. 71. (1888)
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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