Home Page     Kingdom Index      Plant Index     Pinaceae Index


Picea glauca (Moench) Voss
23 photos.
The "white spruce" is the prime lumber tree of interior Alaska.  It thrives on non-permafrosted soils
but is not usually found on permafrost.  The tree is pyramidal in shape and the young trees often end up guarding
the Christmas presents.  It is usually found adjacent to large streams or south-facing upland sites and mature
specimens may reach heights in excess of 100 ft. Photos 1-17 taken in 2008.  USFS Publication

ITIS Taxonomic Serial No. 183295

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


1.  Photo taken in late May of a cluster
of white spruce growing on thin soil over
decomposed granite.


2.  Close up of tree at left



3.  Even closer view of the tree showing
the presence of needles on the trunk and
side-branches.


4.  Another close view of last year's cones
on the same tree.



5.  Cones from a previous year.




6.  Leaf buds on a tree growing on decomposed
granite with very little soil.



7.  Partially open cones in an older tree.






8.  Red female cones and smaller brown male
cones on the lower branches of a mature
tree on a decomposed granite hillside
which was totally barren in 1939.



9.  Cones on same tree one week later.
One of the cones has begun to open.  At
this stage the cone is quite moist.




10.  Small spruce growing on decomposed
granite. This is a wind-swept area and the
damage from wind is evident in the photo.



11.  Despite yellowing of the needles the tree
is developing cones as this closer view
shows.



12.  Still closer view showing the narrow,
erect female cones.




13.  Extreme Photoshop crop of female cones.





14.  Cones in late June on a lower branch of a
large spruce.  Cone color may be red or green
and does not indicate degree of maturity.



15.  Mid-July photo of cones in the tree shown in
8 and 9.  Note that they are green.




16.  Pair of spruce photographed in early
June.




17. Closer view of the pair showing that the
cones on the tree to the left are shorter than
those on the tree to the right.



18.  February 28, 2009.  Top of a tree.  Note
that the cones have opened dueing the winter and
are generally at the tips of the branches.



19.  February 28, 2009.  A closer view
of the tree in photo 18.



20.  February 28, 2009.  A section of a small
tree with very large cones.



21.  September 8, 2009.  A cone from the
tree in photo 20, collected in February.



22.  May 31, 2011.  Typical white spruce.
Cones are formed in areas of new growth,
mainly at the top of the tree and at the
ends of the branches.


23  May 31, 2011.  Close-up of a lower
section of the tree in photo 22.  Note the
cones in the new growth areas.



24.  May 2012.  A composite of four trunks
showing variations in color and bark roughness.




25.  May 8, 2012.  A pair of white spruces
differing in bark color.



26.  May 8, 2012.  A red-barked white spruce



t


27.  May 30, 2013.  Picea glauca on the left,
Picea mariana on the right.  Note that on
this specimen of mariana there are new
cones at the ends of older branches.


Photos 1-17 taken southeast from
Circle Hot Springs at elevations from
1900-3000 feet.

Photos 18-21taken south of Central
65°  33.84' N,  144° 48.46' W
Elev. 950 ft.

Photos 22 and 23 taken 1 mile south of
Ketchem Dome.
Latitude: N 65° 26' 36.434"
Longitude: W 144° 48' 1.0736"
Altitude: 829.76 m.

Photos 24-26 taken at the
museum in Central.
65°  34.3' N,  144° 48.6' W
Elev. 950 f

Photo 27 taken south of Central
65°  33.84' N,  144° 48.46' W
Elev. 950 ft.