Index    Handbook of the Trees of New England by Lorin Low Dame, Henry Brooks

Picea alba, Link. White Spruce. Cat Spruce. Skunk Spruce. Labrador Spruce.

Picea Canadensis, B. S. P.

Habitat and Range.--Low, damp, but not wet woods; dry, sandy soils, high rocky slopes and exposed hilltops, often in scanty soil.

Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, through the provinces of Quebec and Ontario to Manitoba and British Columbia, northward beyond all other trees, within 20 miles of the Arctic sea.

Maine,--frequent in sandy soils, often more common than _P. rubra_, as far south as the shores of Casco bay; New Hampshire,--abundant around the shores of the Connecticut river, disappearing southward at Fifteen-Mile falls; Vermont,--restricted mainly to the northern sections, more common in the northeast; Massachusetts,--occasional in the mountainous regions of Berkshire county; a few trees in Hancock (A. K. Harrington); as far south as Amherst (J. E. Humphrey) and Northampton (Mrs. Emily H. Terry), probably about the southern limit of the species; Rhode Island and Connecticut,--not reported.

West through the northern sections of the northern tier of states to the Rocky mountains.

Habit.--A handsome tree, 40-75 feet high, with a diameter of 1-2 feet at the ground, the trunk tapering slowly, throwing out numerous scattered or irregularly whorled, gently ascending or nearly horizontal branches, forming a symmetrical, rather broad conical head, with numerous branchlets and bluish-green glaucous foliage spread in dense planes; gum bitter.

Bark.--Bark of trunk pale reddish-brown or light gray, on very old trees ash-white; not as flaky as the bark of the red spruce, the scales smaller and more closely appressed; young trees and small branches much smoother, pale reddish-brown or mottled brown and gray, resembling the fir balsam; branchlets glabrous; shoots from which the leaves have fallen marked by the scaly, persistent leaf-cushions; new shoots pale fawn-color at first, turning darker the second season; bark of the tree throughout decidedly lighter than that of the red or black spruces.

Winter Buds and Leaves.--Buds scaly, ovoid or conical, about ¼ inch long, light brown. Leaves scattered, stout as those of _P. rubra_ or very slender, those on the lower side straight or twisted so as to appear on the upper side, giving a brush-like appearance to the twig, about ¾ of an inch long; bluish-green, glaucous on the new shoots, needle-shaped, 4-angled, slightly curved, bluntish or sharp-pointed, often mucronate, marked on each side with several parallel rows of dots, malodorous, especially when bruised.

Inflorescence.--April to May. Sterile flowers terminal or axillary, on wood of the preceding season; distinctly stalked; cylindrical, 1/2 an inch long; anthers pale red: fertile flowers at or near ends of season's shoots; scales pale red or green, spirally imbricated, broader than long; margin roundish, entire or nearly so; each scale bearing two ovules.

Fruit.--Cones short-stalked, at or near ends of branchlets, light green while growing, pale brownish when mature, spreading, 1-2-1/2 inches long, when closed cylindrical, tapering towards the apex, cylindrical or ovate-cylindrical when open, mostly falling the first winter; scales broad, thin, smooth; margin rounded, sometimes straight-topped, usually entire.

Horticultural Value.--A beautiful tree, requiring cold winters for its finest development, the best of our New England spruces for ornamental and forest plantations in the northern sections; grows rapidly in moist or well-drained soils, in open sun or shade, and in exposed situations. The foliage is sometimes infested by the red spider. Propagated from seed.

Plate VIII.--Picea alba.