Norway spruce, Common spruce
Picea abies

Family: Pinaceae

What it is like

A large tree. It grows 22-39-60 m tall and spreads 4.5-7.5 m wide. The trunk can be 1.3-6 m across. It has a conical shape. The secondary branches droop. The leaves are needle-like and dark green above but paler underneath. They are single and stiff. They are 12-24 mm long. They are bent away form the lower side of the twig. Male flowers are yellow and in clusters at the ends of twigs. Female flowers are pink. The fruit are cones which start dark red and become cigar shaped and glossy. They are 10-20 cm long. They change from green flecked with purple to light brown. There are many cultivated varieties.

There are between 30 and 45 species of Picea.

Where it is found

It is a temperate plant. It is frost hardy. It is fast growing. It will grow on most soils. It needs full sunlight. It is cultivated in China. It grows in upland sites in Asia, In Hobart Botanical gardens. It grows between 1000 and 2300 m altitude in Northern Europe. It suits hardiness zones 2-9. Arboretum Tasmania. National Arboretum Canberra.

Countries/locations it is found in

Albania, Australia, Austria, Balkans, Belarus, Bosnia, Britain, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Estonia, Europe, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Korea, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mediterranean, North America, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Scandinavia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Tasmania, Ukraine, USA, Yugoslavia

How it is used for food

Spruce beer is made from the twigs. Spruce bands are put around cheese to impart flavour. The young shoots are eaten raw covered with sugar to make syrup as a children's snack. The male flowering shoots are eaten raw as a snack and famine food. The young cones are eaten as a famine food and used for a herbal tea.

The shoots are foraged and eaten in restaurants in Sweden.

Edible parts

Flowers, inner bark, seeds, tea, shoots, resin, gum

How it is grown

Plants are grown from seed.

It is fast growing.

Its other names

Local names

Gran, Homarika, Kuusk, Lucsika, Navadna smreka, Ou zhou yun shan, Sapin, Smrca, Vagne

Synonyms

Pinus abies L.; Picea excelsa Lamarck (1778)not Wallich ex D.Don (1828) Picea excelsa (Lamarck) Link.;