OCR Text |
Show WASATCH SPECIES OF THE MOUNTAIN MONTH BLUE Blue Spruce, Picea pungens Also Known As: Colorado Blue spruce SPRUCE Popular But Often Confused Description: With Others What it can be confused with: In the wild, Engelmann spruce (Englemann generally has smaller cones and larger bark plates). In the home landscape, Norway spruce (Norway generally has extremely long cones and has particularly droopy branches.) “Blueness” is not always a reliable identifying characteristic. Range: At 6,000 to 11,000 feet elevation — from the mountains of western Montana and central Idaho south through the mountains of Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico. 1996 is Utah’s 100th birthday, and a timely opportunity to take a close look at our state tree, the Blue spruce — an evergreen, needled conifer. Conifers are cone bearing period, called the Carboniferous Era. The dramatic innovation offered by the cone was that it produced hardier seeds, rather than fragile spores — although spore-bearing plants had dominated the realm of plant reproduction since unicellular algae first appeared in the ocean basins over 200 million years before. Conifers were a big evolutionary step toward the true flowering plants, which dominate the Earth today. Blue spruce is an evergreen. So called because it’s leaves remain throughout the winter and photosynthesis continues year-round, although sometimes only on the sunny side of the tree. This is often seen in the denser foliage on the south side of the tree. But no conifer is truely evergreen. If a needle cannot reach enough light to collect energy for photosynthesis, its chlorophyll dissappates, the nee- dle dies and falls off. Blue spruce remains “evergreen” only because it doesn’t lose all its needles at once, like the deciduous trees that shed all their leaves in fall. In winter, soil water is unavailable because the ground is frozen. The Blue spruce circumvents this problem by conserving water. The shape of its needles exposes the least possible surface area, so that evaporation of valuable water is at a minium. The needles are covered with a thick waxy cuticle, and the leaf pores (stomata) are sunken below the surface and are fewer and farther between than those on leaves of deciduous trees. Surviving cold and the heavy weight of winter snow are two more adaptations the Blue spruce has made. It’s nee- dles are equipped with a single, centrally located vein for water and food transport while the remainder of the needle consists of a network of ducts filled with the antifreeze known as resin. The pyramidal shape of the tree, slender needles and drooping branches, accommodate the shedding of snow. The spruce needle is a useful tool in identification. A spruce needle grows singly, and is elevated from the main twig by a little “peg” that remains when the needle falls off. Habitat: Streamside and other moist habitats with willow, cottonwood, fir, chokecherry and aspen. Prefers rich, even swampy soils. plants, and include the familiar pines, firs, spruces, and junipers. The cone is the unique reproductive apparatus that evolved at the height of the dinosaur age around 250 million years ago. Conifers evolved as a succession to the fernlike trees of the coal swamps of that Spruce needles are A rigid, usually dark blue-green, conical conifer, growing to an average of 90 feet tall. In mature trees, branches are perpendicular to the main trunk with slight drooping at the tips. By Pamela M. Poulson Manager of Environmental Education Red Butte Garden and Arboretum epanany TIMES white Cultural Notes: Most popularly planted conifer in the world. Slow growing for the first few years, then taking off with great vigor, doubling in mass approximately every five years. Often blue spruce is planted too close together or too close to a sidewalk or building. square in cross section, whereas fir nee- dles are flat and pine needles pie shaped in cross section. The cones of a Blue spruce point downwards and are at the top of the tree to accomodate wind pollination. Because of its requirement for large amounts of water, Blue spruce does not form vast stands like Englemann spruce, Lodgepole pine or Douglas fir. Blue spruce grows in small groups along streams. Stiff needles and a rigid, perpendicular branching pattern make Blue spruce easily identifiable from a dis- Biggest Blue spruce in the world: In the Indian Creek mountains between Price and Duchesne, on a ridge southeast of Strawberry Reservoir. It is more than 6 feet in diameter over 120 feet tall. TICKET SALES LOCAL TICKET SALES BEGIN JAN. 8 TWO DAYS BEFORE tance. lue spruce was designated Utah's state tree in 1933, as a result of a campaign by Helen Wells, who had established the Utah Shade Tree Commission in the previous decade. Helen promoted Blue spruce as our state tree because it was native to the area, very beautiful and commonly planted throughout the _ state. Designation of Blue spruce as the state tree occurred two years before Colorado made the same selection, but dubbed it the Colorado Blue spruce — a name that remains to this day. Blue spruce is not an unusually common tree in Utah and has no significant historical value except that it has been widely planted in Utah’s home landscapes since the pioneers first arrived. The pioneers brought seeds and NATIONAL TICKET SALES (LIMITED TO 20 TICKETS PER ORDER) seedlings of many trees from the east, GATEWAY BUILDING (ON CORNER OF HEBER AVENUE AND SWEDEN ALLEY) particularly black locust and mulberry. For additional trees, they transplanted native species from our mountains, including Blue spruce, Bigtooth maple and aspen. Blue spruce adapted well to valley life and quickly became a popu- lar selection for home across the country. There were many when the Tribune Building, 134 So. Main, as the City’s Christmas tree. A campaign started in the 1970s by Mike Korologos brought the planting of a live Blue spruce for the City’s Christmas tree. Following at least unsuccessful JANUARY 11-28 8 A.M. T0 8 PM. TICKET OUTLETS SALT LAKE CITY CROSSROADS PLAZA PARK CITY cay Ty SUNDANCE GENERAL STORE landscaping years largest Blue spruce among Salt Lake Valley home landscapes was selected and cut to serve in front of The Salt Lake three PHONE SALES attempts of trans- planting 60 footers to the site, a twenty footer survived in front of The Tribune. It will be 60 feet tall some day, and sooner than you think! Peers eRe melee FOR TICKETS AND INFORMATION 801 322 1700 FILM GUIDE AVAILABLE AT ALL OUTLETS |