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Home > Spruce > Red Spruce

Red Spruce

Red spruce trees inhabit eastern North America. Perhaps it’s most well-known use is its effectiveness as a tonewood, which makes it a perfect choice for making guitars and violins. The tree is, however, susceptible to windthrow and acid rain, both of which can damage it rather easily.

Red Spruce

Scientific Classification

Kingdom Plantae
Division Pinophyta
Class Pinopsida
Order Pinales
Family Pinaceae
Genus Picea
Scientific Name Picea rubens

Red Spruce Cones

Red Spruce Needles

Red Spruce Tree

Red Spruce Trees

Quick Information

Other Names Eastern spruce, yellow spruce, West Virginia spruce, he-balsam
Tree Type Evergreen
Identification Size:59-131 ft (18-40 m)

Trunk Diameter: 2 ft (60 cm)

Needles (Leaves): 15⁄32–19⁄32 in (12-15 mm) in length, curved, yellow-green

Bark: Grey-brown, red-brown  underneath

Cones: Ovoid, chestnut-brown, 1.25-2 in (3-5 cm) long with tough scales, hangs from the branches

Distribution Quebec, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick in Canada, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts,  Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Tennessee, and North Carolina in the United States, and St. Pierre and Miquelon in France
Habitat Mixed and pure forests, upper montane and subalpine altitudes of 0-6500 ft (2000 m)
Hardiness Zones 3
Growth Rate Slow to moderate
Lifespan 250-450 years, sometimes more
Growing Conditions Summer Conditions: Requires cool, moist summers

Winter Conditions: Cold temperatures

Rainfall: Precipitation of around 36-52 inches

Soil: Sandy loam, well-drained

Light Requirements: Full sun

Diseases & Pests

Pests: Spruce budworm, eastern spruce beetle, European spruce sawfly and the yellow-headed spruce sawfly

Diseases: Insignificant

Reproduction System Monoecious
Propagation By seeds
Seedling Development Seeds germinate in the spring
Wildlife Value Spruce grouse, mice, voles, crossbills, grosbeaks, bears, porcupines, deer, snowshoe hares, and red squirrels feed on various parts of the tree
Uses Used to make paper pulp, acoustic guitars, violins, spruce gum, construction lumber; decoratively used as Christmas tree; twigs are boiled to make spruce beer, and also spruce pudding
IUCN Conservation Status Least Concern

Red Spruce Seedlings

Red Needles on Spruce Trees

Red Spruce Needles

Red Spruce Pictures

Interesting Facts

  • The red spruce is the provincial tree of the Canadian maritime province of Nova Scotia.
  • It is very similar to the red spruce, and the two species often end up hybridizing when they share a forest.

References:

  1. https://www.conifers.org/pi/Picea_rubens.php
  2. https://plants.usda.gov/DocumentLibrary/factsheet/pdf/fs_piru.pdf
  3. https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/tree/picrub/all.html
  4. https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/picea-rubens/
  5. http://www.adirondackvic.org/Trees-of-the-Adirondacks-Red-Spruce-Picea-rubens.html
  6. http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=137
  7. https://www.conifers.org/pi/Picea_rubens.php

Published on August 31st 2017 by Sudipto Chakrabarti under Spruce.
Article was last reviewed on 5th December 2022.

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