Leaf Morphology
Leaf Type
Specialized needle, evergreen
Shape
Linear, four-sided (quadrangular) needles that are straight or slightly curved with pointed tips
Margin
Entire (smooth) as it is a single-veined needle
Arrangement
Spiral and singly attached to the twig, sitting on tiny woody pegs called sterigmata
Venation
Parallel, consisting of a single resin canal/vein running through the center of the needle
Key Features
Stiff, four-sided needles attached to woody pegs on the twig, glaucous blue-green color, and a distinctly unpleasant skunky odor when crushed
Description
Picea glauca is a large, cone-bearing evergreen tree reaching heights of 40 to 80 feet with a pyramidal to conical crown. The bark is thin, scaly, and grayish-brown. It produces cylindrical brown cones and is a defining tree of the northern boreal landscape.
Habitat
Boreal forests, taiga, mixed-wood forests, along rivers, lakeshores, and rocky uplands, preferring moist, well-draining acidic soils
Native Range
Native across northern North America, spanning from Alaska and across the Canadian boreal forest down into the northern United States
Notes
Northern Minnesota