| Picea rubens | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Division: | Pinophyta |
| Class: | Pinopsida |
| Order: | Pinales |
| Family: | Pinaceae |
| Genus: | Picea |
| Species: | P. rubens |
| Binomial name | |
| Picea rubens Sarg. |
|
Picea rubens (red spruce) is a species of spruce native to eastern North America, ranging from eastern Quebec to Nova Scotia, and from New England south in the Adirondack Mountains and Appalachians to western North Carolina.[2][3][4]
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Red Spruce is a coniferous tree growing to 18–40 metres (59–130 ft) high (sometimes it could be much shorter, about 4 metres (13 ft)) and has a trunk diameter of about 60 centimetres (24 in), though exceptional specimens can reach 46 m (151 ft) tall and 30 cm (12 in) diameter. It has a narrow conical crown. The leaves are needle-like, yellow-green, 12–15 millimetres (0.47–0.59 in) long, four-sided, curved, with a sharp point, and extend from all sides of the twig. The bark is gray-brown on the surface and red-brown on the inside, thin, and scaly. The cones are cylindrical, 3–5 centimetres (1.2–2.0 in) long, with a glossy red-brown color and stiff scales. The cones hang down from branches.[2][3][4][5]
Red Spruce grows at a slow to moderate rate, lives for 250 to 450+ years, and is very shade-tolerant when young.[6] It is often found in pure stands or forests mixed with Eastern White Pine, Balsam Fir, or Black Spruce. Along with Fraser Fir, Red Spruce is one of two primary tree types in the Southern Appalachian spruce-fir forest, a distinct ecosystem found only in the highest elevations of the Southern Appalachian Mountains.[7] Its habitat is moist but well-drained sandy loam, often at high altitudes. Red Spruce can be easily damaged by windthrow and acid rain.
Notable Red Spruce forests can be seen at Gaudineer Scenic Area, a virgin red spruce forest located in West Virginia, the Canaan Valley, Roaring Plains West Wilderness, Dolly Sods Wilderness, Spruce Mountain and Spruce Knob all also in West Virginia and all sites of former extensive Red Spruce forest. Some areas of this forest, particularly in Roaring Plains West Wilderness, Dolly Sods Wilderness as well as areas of Spruce Mountain are making a rather substantial recovery.
It is closely related to Black Spruce, and hybrids between the two are frequent where their ranges meet.[2][3][4]
Red Spruce is used for Christmas trees and is an important wood used in making paper pulp. It is also an excellent tonewood, and is used in many higher-end acoustic guitars. The sap can be used to make spruce gum.[5] Leafy red spruce twigs are boiled as a part of making spruce beer.
Red Spruce is the Provincial tree of Nova Scotia.[3]
The Central Appalachian Spruce Restoration Initiative (CASRI)[8] seeks to unite diverse partners with the goal of restoring historic red spruce ecosystems across the high-elevation landscapes of central Appalachia.