? Blue Spruce Conservation status: Secure
Blue Spruce foliage and cones, Bryce Canyon National Park
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Pinophyta Class: Pinopsida Order: Pinales Family: Pinaceae Genus: Picea Species: P. pungens
Binomial name
Picea pungens Engelm.

The Blue Spruce or Colorado Spruce (Picea pungens) is a medium-sized evergreen tree growing to 25-30 m tall, exceptionally to 46 m tall, and with a trunk diameter of up to 1.5 m. It is native to western North America, from southeast Idaho and southwest Wyoming, south through Utah and Colorado to Arizona and New Mexico. It grows at high altitudes from 1800-3000 m altitude, though unlike Engelmann Spruce in the same area, it does not reach the alpine tree-line. It is most commonly found growing along streamsides in mountain valleys, where moisture levels in the soil are greater than the often low rainfall in the area would suggest. Image File history File links Picea_pungens. ... Bryce Canyon National Park is a national park located in southwestern Utah in the United States. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Divisions Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular plants (bryophytes) Marchantiophyta - liverworts Anthocerotophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - true ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns Ophioglossophyta - adderstongues Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta - ginkgo Gnetophyta - gnetae Magnoliophyta - flowering plants Adiantum pedatum (a fern... Orders & Families Cordaitales † Pinales   Pinaceae - Pine family   Araucariaceae - Araucaria family   Podocarpaceae - Yellow-wood family   Sciadopityaceae - Umbrella-pine family   Cupressaceae - Cypress family   Cephalotaxaceae - Plum-yew family   Taxaceae - Yew family Vojnovskyales † Voltziales † The conifers, division Pinophyta, are one of 13 or 14 division level taxa within the Kingdom Plantae. ... Orders & Families Cordaitales † Pinales   Pinaceae - Pine family   Araucariaceae - Araucaria family   Podocarpaceae - Yellow-wood family   Sciadopityaceae - Umbrella-pine family   Cupressaceae - Cypress family   Cephalotaxaceae - Plum-yew family   Taxaceae - Yew family Vojnovskyales † Voltziales † The conifers, division Pinophyta, are one of 13 or 14 division level taxa within the Kingdom Plantae. ... Families Pinaceae, pine family Araucariaceae, araucaria family Podocarpaceae, yellow-wood family Phyllocladaceae Sciadopityaceae, umbrella-pine family Cupressaceae, cypress family Cephalotaxaceae, plum-yew family Taxaceae, yew family The Order Pinales in the Division Pinophyta, Class Pinopsida comprises all the extant conifers. ... Genera Subfamily Pinoideae     Pinus - pines (about 115 species) Subfamily Piceoideae     Picea - spruces (about 35 species) Subfamily Laricoideae     Cathaya (one species)     Larix - larches (about 14 species)     Pseudotsuga - douglas-firs (five species) Subfamily Abietoideae     Abies - firs (about 50 species)     Cedrus - cedars (two to four species)     Pseudolarix - golden larch (one species)     Keteleeria (three... Species About 35; see text. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... George Engelmann George Engelmann (also known as Georg Engelmann) was a German-American botanist. ... A Silver Fir shoot showing three successive years of retained leaves In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant which retains its leaves year-round, with each leaf persisting for more than 12 months. ... The coniferous Coast Redwood, the tallest tree species on earth A tree can be defined as a large, perennial, woody plant. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America North America is a continent in the northern hemisphere bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the south by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the... State nickname: Gem State Official languages English Capital Boise Largest city Boise Governor Dirk Kempthorne (R) Senators Larry Craig (R) Mike Crapo (R) Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 14th 216,632 km² 0. ... State nickname: Equality State Official languages English Capital Cheyenne Largest city Cheyenne Governor Dave Freudenthal (D) Senators Craig Thomas (R) Mike Enzi (R) Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 10th 253,554 km² 0. ... Utah is one of the Four Corners states, and is bordered by: Idaho (at 42°N) and Wyoming (at 41°N and 111°W) in the north, by Colorado (at 109°W) in the east, at a single point by New Mexico to the southeast (at the Four Corners Monument... State nickname: The Centennial State Other U.S. States Capital Denver Largest city Denver Governor Bill Owens (R) Senators Wayne Allard (R) Ken Salazar (D) Official language(s) English Area 269,837 km² (8th)  - Land 268,879 km²  - Water 962 km² (0. ... State nickname: The Grand Canyon State, The Copper State Other U.S. States Capital Phoenix Largest city Phoenix Governor Janet Napolitano (D) Senators John McCain (R) Jon Kyl (R) Official language(s) English Area 295,254 km² (6th)  - Land 294,312 km²  - Water 942 km² (0. ... State nickname: Land of Enchantment Official languages English AreaRank = 5th Capital Santa Fe Largest city Albuquerque Governor Bill Richardson (D) Senators Pete Domenici (R) Jeff Bingaman (D) Area  - Total  - % water Ranked {{{AreaRank}}} 315,194 km² 0. ... Binomial name Picea engelmannii Parry ex Engelm. ... In this view of an alpine tree-line, the distant line looks particularly sharp. ...

The bark is thin and scaly, flaking off in small circular plates 5-10 cm across. The crown is conic in young trees, becoming cylindric in older trees. The shoots are stout, orange-brown, usually glabrous, and with prominent pulvini. The leaves are needle-like, 15-30 mm long, stout, rhombic in cross-section, dull gray-green to bright glaucous blue (very variable from tree to tree in wild populations), with several lines of stomata; the tip is viciously sharp. For other meanings of bark, see Bark (disambiguation). ... In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant organ specialized for photosynthesis. ... This is not about surgically created bowel openings; see stoma (medicine) In botany, a stoma (also stomate; plural stomata) is a tiny opening or pore, found mostly on the undersurface of a plant leaf, and used for gas exchange. ...

The cones are pendulous, slender cylindrical, 6-11 cm long and 2 cm broad when closed, opening to 4 cm broad. They have thin, flexible scales 20-24 mm long, with a wavy margin. They are reddish to violet, maturing pale brown 5-7 months after pollination. The seeds are black, 3-4 mm long, with a slender, 10-13 mm long pale brown wing. A cone (in formal botanical usage: strobilus, plural strobili) is an organ on plants in the division Pinophyta (conifers) that contains the reproductive structures. ... SEED is a block cipher developed by the Korean Information Security Agency. ...

Blue Spruce does not normally hybridize with other spruces, though hybrids with Engelmann Spruce have been found very rarely. In biology, hybrid has three meanings. ...

Uses

National Christmas Tree, a Blue Spruce planted in 1978.

Blue Spruce is one of the most popular garden conifers, grown for its strongly glaucous foliage. Numerous cultivars selected for particularly bright blue foliage have been selected by the horticultural trade, some of them also slow-growing dwarf forms suitable for planting in small gardens. It is also sometimes used as a Christmas tree, though the very sharp needles make it a poor choice for families with children. Image File history File linksMetadata National-christmas-tree-2004. ... Image File history File linksMetadata National-christmas-tree-2004. ... Part of a garden in Bristol, England A flower bed in the gardens of Bristol Zoo, England Checkered flower bed in Tours, France Youll find it near, youll find it far. ... This Osteospermum Pink Whirls is a successful cultivar. ... The Latin words hortus (garden plant) and cultura (culture) together form horticulture, classically defined as the culture or growing of garden plants. ... A Christmas tree in a Danish home. ...

The National Christmas Tree in Washington, D.C. is a 40-foot (12 m) Blue Spruce planted on the Ellipse in 1978. National Christmas Tree (December 2, 2004) The National Christmas Tree is a 40-foot (12 m) Colorado blue spruce from York, Pennsylvania, planted on the Ellipse in Washington, D.C. on October 20, 1978. ... Washington, D.C. is the capital city of the United States of America. ... Presidents Park is a unit of the National Park Service, located in Washington, D.C., USA at 38° 53′ 42″ N 77° 02′ 11″ W. It includes the White House, a visitor center, Lafeyette Square, and the Ellipse. ...

Blue Spruce is the State Tree of Colorado (where it is commonly known as Colorado Spruce) and Utah. This List of U.S. state trees includes official trees of the following states and U.S. possessions: See also Lists of U.S. state insignia National Grove of State Trees External link USDA list of state trees and flowers Categories: U.S. state insignia | Lists of plants | Trees ...

External links

• Gymnosperm Database
• Flora of North America
• Arboretum de Villardebelle - photos of cones of Picea pungens and related spruces