The Norway Spruce tree (Picea abies)

The Norway spruce is also known as the European spruce.  The Latin name for this tree is Picea abies.  You may wonder why I'm talking about this species despite the fact that it is not originally native to North America.  I'll explain that shortly.

First, let's cover a few basics.  Norway spruce is typically native to northern, central, and eastern Europe.  It doesn't like warm temperatures, so it's not common in southern Europe (although pockets do exist).  It is very closely related to the Siberian spruce, which is found commonly east of the Urals.

Norway spruce has become a relatively common tree in North America, despite not being a native species.  Globally, this species is one of the most widely planted of all trees, both inside and outside its native range.  Norway spruce is planted frequently within the cooler northern parts of the United States, and through eastern Canada.  It is so prevalent that there are now naturalized populations from the Great Lakes to parts of the northeastern seaboard.  It fits quite well into parts of Canada's temperate forest, and even grows well in parts of the southeastern boreal forest (at least where the climate is suitable).

Norway spruce is a very large conifer, often growing to heights of more than 40 meters, and diameters of more than a meter.  More importantly, it is very fast-growing compared to most other spruce species, especially for the first twenty-five years.  Typically, when you see mixed species plantations, you'll notice that pine trees grow very quickly (because they love sunlight) and spruce trees lag behind quite significantly, but the spruce trees slowly start to catch up after a few decades.  Norway spruce narrows that gap significantly.  Here's a photo of a semi-mature tree:

You'll notice that this particular urban tree looks quite symmetrical and full.  It has a nice shape to it.  Norway spruce has high commercial value, and not just for pulp and lumber.  It's also a very popular tree for the cultivation of Christmas trees, and used for this purpose all over the world.  Oslo (the capital of Norway) donates a large Norway spruce Christmas tree to the cities of London, Edinborough, and Washington DC each year, as thanks for the aid that the US and UK gave to Norway during World War II.  Norway spruce are also commonly used as ornamental trees in parks and gardens in many parts of the world (as long as the climate is suitable).

The needles of the Norway spruce are four-sided (quadrangular).  This means that if you take a needle and try to "roll" it between your thumb and finger, it rolls quite easily.  In contract, the needles for some species don't do this.  Balsam fir, as an example, is a three-sided needle but it's a very shallow profile (almost two-sided), so balsam fir needles won't roll easily between your fingers.  The needles of the Norway spruce have quite blunt tips.  Here's a photo of some lush foilage.

The seed cones of the Norway spruce are record-setting among the various spruce species for having the longest length.  Some full-sized cones can be almost twenty centimeters (eight inches) long.  These cones start out being either reddish or greenish in colour, but about half a year after they are pollinated, they mature to a rich brown colour.

Here are a few fun facts about the Norway spruce:

1.  This species is so fast-growing that in some areas, it grows to reach the appropriate size for Christmas trees in as little as four years.

2.  This is another species which is especially suitable for making beer (the brew is made from young branches with the richest needles).

3.  There is a Norway spruce tree in Sweden which has been nicknamed Old Tjikko.  This tree, which grew as a clone from a root system, has been dated as being 9,550 years old.  It is the oldest known individual living tree of any species (some trembling aspen clusters are much older).


Thanks for reading ...

- Jonathan Clark
www.replant-environmental.ca



Replant.ca Environmental is a Canadian company that plants trees for carbon capture and builds community forests.  We also plant trees in national, provincial, and municipal public parks to mitigate damage from wildfires, storms, insects, and forest diseases.  We operate thanks to numerous small contributions from the general public, in addition to larger project sponsorships from businesses and corporations around the world.  If you'd like to learn how to show your support, visit our donations page.  Even if you aren't able to make a contribution, we very much appreciate when people are able to share our posts or our website link on social media, to help spread the word about the work that we're doing!

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