Black Spruce

Picea mariana, the black spruce, is a North American species of spruce tree in the pine family. It is widespread across Canada, found in all 10 provinces and all 3 territories. It is the official tree of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador and is that province's most numerous tree. It grows on wet lowlands and drier uplands, in a variety of soils. It is most common on poorly drained sites underlain with permafrost. Black spruce dominates most spruce-fir ecosystems of boreal North America. Black spruce communities are generally classified into forest and woodland types.Keys to identifying the Black Spruce include its needles, cones, growth habit, and habitat. Like Red Spruce and Balsam Fir, Black Spruce needles are short – about half an inch long – in contrast to the Eastern White Pine, whose needles are generally three to five inches long. Black spruce is a small, narrow evergreen tree with a spire-like crown. It has descending branches, with dark, bluish-green needles, and upturned ends. Lower limbs sweep the ground. It is an excellent choice for cold northern climates and tolerant of wet sites. Black spruce is found from sea level in eastern and northern Canada and western Alaska to 1830 m (6,000 ft) in northern Alberta. It is considered to be a tree of interior lowlands, however, and usually grows at between 150 and 760 m (500 and 2,500 ft).

Scientific name: Picea mariana

Conservation status: Least Concern (Population stable)

Lifespan: 280 years

Family: Pinaceae

Order: Pinales