familyPinaceae
genusPicea

Picea glauca

(Moench) Voss

Mitt. Deutsch. Dendrol. Ges. 16: 93. 1907.

Common names: White spruce western white spruce Porsild spruce Black Hills spruce épinette blanche
IllustratedEndemic
Basionym: Pinus glauca Moench Verz. Ausländ. Bäume, 73. 1785 Picea canadensis Aiton Sterns, & Poggenburg
Synonyms: Abies canadensis Miller Picea alba (Aiton) Link Picea alba var. albertiana (S.Brown) Beissner Picea albertiana (Miller) Britton Picea canadensis var. glauca (Moench) Sudworth Picea glauca var. albertiana (S.Brown) Sargent Picea glauca var. densata Bailey Picea glauca var. porsildii Raup Pinus alba
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 2.

Trees to 30m; trunk to 1m diam.; crown broadly conic to spirelike. Bark gray-brown. Branches slightly drooping; twigs not pendent, rather slender, pinkish brown, glabrous. Buds orange-brown, 3–6mm, apex rounded. Leaves (0.8–)1.5–2(–2.5)cm, 4-angled in cross section, rigid, blue-green, bearing stomates on all surfaces, apex sharp-pointed. Seed cones 2.5–6(–8)cm; scales fan-shaped, broadest near rounded apex, 10–16 × 9–13mm, flexuous, margin at apex ± entire, apex extending 0.5–3mm beyond seed-wing impression. 2n =24.


Habitat: Muskegs, bogs, and river banks to montane slopes
Elevation: 0–1000m

Distribution

V2 6-distribution-map.gif

St. Pierre and Miquelon, Alta., B.C., Man., N.B., Nfld. and Labr., N.W.T., N.S., Nunavut, Ont., P.E.I., Que., Sask., Yukon, Alaska, Maine, Mich., Minn., Mont., N.H., N.Y., S.Dak., Vt., Wis., Wyo.

Discussion

In areas of sympatry Picea glauca and P. engelmannii regularly hybridize and intergrade completely (R.Daubenmire 1974; E.H. Garman 1957; K.W. Horton 1959; L.Roche 1969; T.M.C. Taylor 1959). This has greatly complicated the taxonomy of P. glauca, a dominant tree of interior forests of Canada and Alaska. Three varieties have been recognized. Picea glauca var. albertiana was described as having unusually prominent leaf bases, cones nearly as broad as long, cone scales acute and broader than long, and an unusually narrow crown. These are common characteristics of hybrids (e.g., R.Daubenmire 1974). Picea glauca var. porsildii was described as differing from the type variety by having smooth bark with resin blisters, short angular cone scales, an unusually broad crown, and pubescent twigs. These characteristics, also largely intermediate between those of P. glauca var. glauca and P. engelmannii, may reflect hybridization where the species overlap. Although the two varieties noted above are reported from well beyond the range of sympatry, the diagnostic characteristics are not well correlated and occur rather sporadically. Also the most distinctive feature of the varieties, the crown shape, is in part responsive to competitive pressures. Because of the problems of hybridization and sporadic occurrence of key characters, P. glauca is treated here in the broad sense.

Picea glauca (white spruce) is the provincial tree of Manitoba and the state tree (as Black Hills spruce) of South Dakota.

Lower Taxa

None.
... more about "Picea glauca"
Ronald J. Taylor +
(Moench) Voss +
Pinus glauca +  and Picea canadensis +
White spruce +, western white spruce +, Porsild spruce +, Black Hills spruce +  and épinette blanche +
St. Pierre and Miquelon +, Alta. +, B.C. +, Man. +, N.B. +, Nfld. and Labr. +, N.W.T. +, N.S. +, Nunavut +, Ont. +, P.E.I. +, Que. +, Sask. +, Yukon +, Alaska +, Maine +, Mich. +, Minn. +, Mont. +, N.H. +, N.Y. +, S.Dak. +, Vt. +, Wis. +  and Wyo. +
0–1000m +
Muskegs, bogs, and river banks to montane slopes +
Mitt. Deutsch. Dendrol. Ges. +
laroi1968a +  and little1958a +
Illustrated +  and Endemic +
Abies canadensis +, Picea alba +, Picea alba var. albertiana +, Picea albertiana +, Picea canadensis var. glauca +, Picea glauca var. albertiana +, Picea glauca var. densata +, Picea glauca var. porsildii +  and Pinus alba +
Picea glauca +
species +