Picea mariana (Mill.) Britton Sterns & Poggenb.

Black spruce

About plant names...

Black spruce is native to temperate regions of North Amer­ica. It prefers wetter lowland regions, or drier upland and alpine regions to elevations as high as 5000' (1.5 km). It likes long, cold winters and short summers. It is migrating gradually northward as a result of global warming.

Plants: Trees are slow-growing narrow evergreens with straight trunks and drooping branches with upturned tips. Bark is thin, scaly, and gray-brown. Branches pressed to the ground by winter snows take root, producing rings of new trees.

Leaves: Needles are linear, stiff, sharp-tipped, up to ¾" (2 cm) long, with a diamond-shaped cross section. They are attached in a spiral pattern. They are dark blue-green, often coated with a powdery white substance.

Flowers: Trees produce red male flowers that turn yellow to light brown, as well as purple female flowers that are upright, appearing in the upper crowns. Flowers appear from April to May.

Fruits: Cones are ½-1" (1.5-3 cm) long, smaller than other conifers. They are almost round and gray to black in color, in dense clusters near the top of the tree.

Edibility: Tea, spruce gum from the bark, spruce oil from the needles (a flavoring or medicine), and even spruce beer are made from black spruce.

Medical: Spruce oil prepared from spruce needles has been approved for use in treating colds, coughs, fevers, inflam­mation of the mouth and pharynx, nauralgias, and rheumatism. There are many unproven uses as well.

Online References:

Gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org

BorealForest.org

The USDA Forest Service's Fire Effects Information Database

Plants for a Future

References:

Multiple Authors, PDR for Herbal Medicines, Thomson Healthcare Inc., 2007, p. 783

5/9/2021 · Mitchell Field, Harpswell, Maine
≈ 5 × 3½" (13 × 8.7 cm)

7/12/2015 · Mt. Kearsarge, Wilmot/Warner, New Hamp­shire

9/20/2009 · Wild Gardens of Acadia, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine
≈ 31 × 21" (78 × 52 cm)

7/13/2015 · Mt. Mansfield, Stowe/Cambridge, Ver­mont
≈ 5 × 8" (13 × 19 cm)

9/7/2013 · Beech Hill, Dublin, New Hamp­shire
≈ 12 × 8" (31 × 21 cm)

7/13/2015 · Mt. Mansfield, Stowe/Cambridge, Ver­mont
≈ 8 × 5" (19 × 13 cm)

5/9/2021 · Mitchell Field, Harpswell, Maine
≈ 6 × 4" (16 × 11 cm)

5/9/2021 · Mitchell Field, Harpswell, Maine
≈ 5 × 3½" (13 × 9.2 cm)

9/7/2013 · Beech Hill, Dublin, New Hamp­shire
≈ 8 × 5" (19 × 13 cm)

The burls are caused by a virus. · 8/25/2004 · Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine

5/11/2021 · Harpswell Historic Park, Harpswell Garden Club, Harpswell, Maine
≈ 4 × 6" (11 × 16 cm)

11/1/2011

Picea mariana description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 17 Aug 2021.

© FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved.

8/22/2020 · Kettle Hole Bog, Hidden Valley Nature Center, Jefferson, Maine
≈ 6 × 10" (16 × 24 cm)

9/29/2013 · North Bubble Hike, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine

9/7/2013 · Beech Hill, Dublin, New Hamp­shire
≈ 4 × 2½' (1.2 × 0.8 m)

7/13/2015 · Mt. Mansfield, Stowe/Cambridge, Ver­mont
≈ 7 × 4½" (18 × 12 cm)

9/28/2013 · Cadillac Mountain, Acadia Naitonal Park, Bar Harbor, Maine

8/22/2020 · Kettle Hole Bog, Hidden Valley Nature Center, Jefferson, Maine
≈ 8 × 5" (20 × 13 cm)

9/28/2013 · Cadillac Mountain, Acadia Naitonal Park, Bar Harbor, Maine

9/7/2013 · Beech Hill, Dublin, New Hamp­shire
≈ 8 × 5" (19 × 13 cm)

8/22/2020 · Kettle Hole Bog, Hidden Valley Nature Center, Jefferson, Maine
≈ 4 × 2½" (11 × 7.3 cm)

7/13/2015 · Mt. Mansfield, Stowe/Cambridge, Ver­mont
≈ 8 × 6" (20 × 14 cm)

8/15/2015 · Screw Auger Falls, Grafton Notch State Park, Newry, Maine

7/13/2015 · Mt. Mansfield, Stowe/Cambridge, Ver­mont
≈ 8 × 5" (19 × 13 cm)

9/7/2013 · Beech Hill, Dublin, New Hamp­shire

9/28/2013 · Cadillac Mountain, Acadia Naitonal Park, Bar Harbor, Maine

Range: Zones 3-5:

About this map...