Picea abies (Cultivated- USA)

Picea abies (L.) H.Karst., Deut. Fl. 325 1881. (syn: Abies abies (L.) Druce [Invalid]; Abies alpestris Brügger; Abies carpatica (Loudon) Ravenscr.; Abies cinerea Borkh.; Abies clambrasiliana Lavallée; Abies clanbrassiliana Loudon; Abies coerulescens K.Koch; Abies communis P.Lawson [Illegitimate]; Abies commutata var. mucronata Loudon; Abies conica Lavallée; Abies cranstonii Lavallée [Invalid]; Abies elegans Sm. ex J.Knight; Abies eremita K.Koch; Abies erythrocarpa (Purk.) Nyman; Abies excelsa (Lam.) Poir. ……………….; Abies extrema Th.Fr.; Abies finedonensis Gordon; Abies gigantea Sm. ex Carrière; Abies gregoryana H.Low. ex Gordon; Abies inverta R.Sm. ex Gordon; Abies lemoniana Booth ex Gordon; Abies medioxima C.Lawson; Abies minima Lavallée [Invalid]; Abies minuta Poir.; Abies montana Nyman; Abies mucronata Rausch ex Carrière [Invalid]; Abies parvula Knight; Abies pectinata Gilib. [Invalid]; Abies picea Mill.; Abies pumila Voss [Invalid]; Abies subarctica (Schur) Nyman; Abies viminalis Wahlenb.; Abies vulgaris Wender. [Illegitimate]; Picea abies var. alpestris (Brügger) P.A.Schmidt ……………………..; Picea alpestris (Brügger) Stein; Picea cranstonii Beissn.; Picea elegantissima Beissn.; Picea excelsa (Lam.) Link ……………….; Picea finedonensis Beissn.; Picea gregoryana Beissn.; Picea integrisquamis (Carrière) Chiov.; Picea maxwellii Beissn.; Picea montana Schur; Picea obovata var. alpestris (Brügger) A.Henry; Picea remontii Beissn.; Picea rubra A.Dietr.; Picea subarctica Schur; Picea velebitica Simonk. ex Kümmerle; Picea viminalis (Alstr.) Beissn.; Picea vulgaris Link …………; Pinus abies L. ..; Pinus carpatica Gordon [Invalid]; Pinus cinerea Röhl. [Invalid]; Pinus clanbrasiliana J.Forbes [Invalid]; Pinus excelsa Lam.; Pinus excelsa Lamb.; Pinus picea Du Roi [Illegitimate] …….; Pinus pyramidalis Salisb. [Illegitimate]; Pinus sativa Lam.; Pinus viminalis Alstr.);

Norway spruce (Picea abies) is a species of spruce native to Europe. It is also commonly referred to as the European spruce.

It is a large, fast-growing evergreen coniferous tree growing 35–55 m (115–180 ft) tall and with a trunk diameter of 1 to 1.5 m. It can grow fast when young, up to 1 m (3 ft) per year for the first 25 years under good conditions, but becomes slower once over 20 m (66 ft) tall.^[1] The shoots are orange-brown and glabrous (hairless). The leaves are needle-like, 12–24 mm long, quadrangular in cross-section (not flattened), and dark green on all four sides with inconspicuous stomatal lines. The cones are 9–17 cm long (the longest of any spruce), and have bluntly to sharply triangular-pointed scale tips. They are green or reddish, maturing brown 5–7 months after pollination. The seeds are black, 4–5 mm long, with a pale brown 15 mm wing.^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]

The Norway spruce is one of the most widely planted spruces, both in and outside of its native range, and one of the most economically important coniferous species in Europe.^[8] It is used as an ornamental tree in parks and gardens. It is also widely planted for use as a Christmas tree. In North America, Norway spruce is widely planted, specifically in the northeastern, Pacific Coast, and Rocky Mountain states, as well as in southeastern Canada. It is naturalised in some parts of North America, though not so extensively as to be considered invasive.

(From Wikipedia 21.12.13)