Picea orientalis
Template:Short description Template:Speciesbox
Picea orientalis, commonly known as the Oriental spruce[1] or Caucasian spruce, is a species of spruce native to the Caucasus and adjacent northeast Turkey.
Description
It is a large coniferous evergreen tree growing to 30–45 m tall or 98–145 feet (exceptionally to 57 m), and with a trunk diameter of up to 1.5 m (exceptionally up to 4 m). The Caucasian Spruce can also be found in Northern Iran, though its numbers have decreased due to deforestation.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
The shoots are buff-brown and moderately pubescent (hairy). The leaves are needle-like, the shortest of any spruce, 6–8 mm long, rhombic in cross-section, dark green with inconspicuous stomatal lines. The cones are slender cylindric-conic, 5–9 cm long and 1.5 cm broad, red to purple when young, maturing dark brown 5–7 months after pollination, and have stiff, smoothly rounded scales.
Cultivation
It is a popular ornamental tree in large gardens, valued in northern Europe and the USA for its attractive foliage and ability to grow on a wide range of soils. It is also grown to a small extent in forestry for Christmas trees, timber and paper production, though its slower growth compared to Norway spruce reduces its importance outside of its native range. P. orientalis[2] and the cultivars 'Aurea' [3] and 'Skylands'[4] have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[5] A frequently seen ornamental cultivar is Picea orientalis 'Aureospicata', which has gold-coloured young foliage in the spring.
-
Foliage
-
Cones
-
Male cones of var 'aurea'
References
<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />
Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".
External links
- Gymnosperm Database
- Picea orientalis - information, genetic conservation units and related resources. European Forest Genetic Resources Programme (EUFORGEN)