The oldest known individual tree (that has not taken advantage of vegetative cloning) is a Great Basin bristlecone pine over 5,000 years old (germination in 3051 BC). [9][10][11], Some botanists treat Siberian spruce as a subspecies of Norway spruce, though in their typical forms, they are very distinct, the Siberian spruce having cones only 5–10 cm long, with smoothly rounded scales, and pubescent (hairy) shoots. The Norway spruce is widely planted for its wood, and is the species used as the main Christmas tree in several cities around the world. Propagate by grafting or semi-hardwood cuttings.

Norway spruce shoot tips have been used in traditional Austrian medicine internally (as syrup or tea) and externally (as baths, for inhalation, as ointments, as resin application or as tea) for treatment of disorders of the respiratory tract, skin, locomotor system, gastrointestinal tract and infections. Architectural, Picea abies 'Cupressina' (Norway Spruce) is an elegant, columnar, evergreen tree with dense, fastigiate branches boasting attractive, slightly curved, dark green needles that turn blue-green in winter in colder climates. All rights reserved. [14], Another spruce with smoothly rounded cone scales and hairy shoots occurs rarely in the Central Alps in eastern Switzerland.

E.g. The Norway spruce (Picea abies) is a coniferous evergreen fir tree native to the mountainous regions of Europe and Asia. Join now and start creating your dream garden! Despite recent advances in massively parallel DNA sequencing, the assembly of such a large and repetitive genome is a particularly challenging task, mainly from a computational perspective. As with Siberian spruce, it hybridises extensively with Norway spruce; pure specimens are rare. [4] Norway spruces are more tolerant of hot, humid weather than many conifers which do not thrive except in cool-summer areas and they will grow up to USDA Growing Zone 8. Combine... Rich in texture and interest, this elegant summer garden... One of the most stunning variegated trees, Cornus... Adorned with lavender in full bloom on either side, this... Flowering cherry trees are typically planted for the... Flowering cherry trees make a dramatic statement when in... Use our interactive toolsto design your dream garden. From 1928 until the 1960s it was planted on surface mine spoils in Indiana. We use cookies on this website, you can read about them here. This form was used by Stradivarius for instruments. A spruce is a tree of the genus Picea / p aɪ ˈ s iː ə /, a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal regions of the Earth.

Its strong branches are able to hold up the thousands of lights and ornaments, and being outside the needles stay on the tree for a long time. Deleting this collection CANNOT be undone. They are green or reddish, maturing brown 5–7 months after pollination. Becoming a contributing member of Gardenia is easy and can be done in just a few minutes. fennica, if the two taxa are considered subspecies), and can be distinguished by a tendency towards having hairy shoots and cones with smoothly rounded scales.[9][10][11]. If you provide us with your name, email address and the payment of a modest $25 annual membership fee, you will become a full member, enabling you to design and save up to 25 of your garden design ideas. It never drops its needles but keeps them on for up to 10 years. [7] The shoots are orange-brown and glabrous (hairless). Grows to a height of 20ft. The Latin specific epithet abies means “fir-like”. [32], The genome of Picea abies was sequenced in 2013, the first gymnosperm genome to be completely sequenced. [24] This high vitamin C content can be consumed as a tea from the shoot tips or even eaten straight from the tree when light green and new in spring. It can grow fast when young, up to 1 m (3 ft) per year for the first 25 years under good conditions, but becomes slower once over 20 m (65 ft) tall. A fast grower, over 12 in. The leaves are needle-like with blunt tips,[8] 12–24 mm (15⁄32–15⁄16 in) long, quadrangular in cross-section (not flattened), and dark green on all four sides with inconspicuous stomatal lines. [16] The following cultivars have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:[17]. A large proportion of the spruce genome consists of repetitive DNA sequences, including long terminal repeat transposable elements. Spruce needles fall off when the tree is 4-10 years old. per year (30 cm), this eye-catching Norway Spruce makes a wonderful specimen in the sunny border. Watch for adelgids, aphids and conifer red spider mite.

[4], Several cultivars have been selected as ornamentals (‘Barrya’, ‘Capitata’, ‘Decumbens’, ‘Dumosa’, ‘Clanbrassiliana’, ‘Gregoryana’, ‘Inversa’, ‘Microsperma’, ‘Nidiformis’, ‘Ohlendorffii’, ‘Repens’, ‘Tabuliformis’, ‘Maxwellii’, 'Virgata', 'Inversa', ‘Pendula’), with a wide variety of sizes and shapes, from full-sized forest trees to extremely slow-growing, prostrate forms. abies. Orange: introduced areas. It was the first gymnosperm to have its genome sequenced. Architectural, Picea abies 'Cupressina' (Norway Spruce) is an elegant, columnar, evergreen tree with dense, fastigiate branches boasting attractive, slightly curved, dark green needles that turn blue-green in winter in colder climates. To use the website as intended please 

Grows up to 25 ft. tall (750 cm) and 6 ft. wide (180 cm) ay maturity. The shoots are orange-brown and glabrous (hairless).

Green: native range.