Sitka Spruce
The Sitka Spruce is a large
evergreen tree growing to 50-70 m tall, exceptionally to 96 m tall, and with a trunk diameter of up to 5 m. It is by far the largest species of
spruce, and the third tallest tree species in the world .
The bark is thin and scaly, flaking off in small circular plates 5-20 cm across. The crown is broad conic in young trees, becoming cylindric in older trees; old trees may have no branches in the lowest 30-40 m. The shoots are very pale buff-brown, almost white, and glabrous but with prominent pulvini. The
leaves are stiff, sharp and needle-like, 15-25 mm long, flattened in cross-section, dark glaucous blue-green above with two or three thin lines of
stomata, and blue-white below with two dense bands of stomata.
Encyclopedia
The
Sitka Spruce is a large
evergreen tree growing to 50-70 m tall, exceptionally to 96 m tall, and with a trunk diameter of up to 5 m. It is by far the largest species of
spruce, and the third tallest tree species in the world .
The bark is thin and scaly, flaking off in small circular plates 5-20 cm across. The crown is broad conic in young trees, becoming cylindric in older trees; old trees may have no branches in the lowest 30-40 m. The shoots are very pale buff-brown, almost white, and glabrous but with prominent pulvini. The
leaves are stiff, sharp and needle-like, 15-25 mm long, flattened in cross-section, dark glaucous blue-green above with two or three thin lines of
stomata, and blue-white below with two dense bands of stomata.
The
cones are pendulous, slender cylindrical, 5-11 cm long and 2 cm broad when closed, opening to 3 cm broad. They have thin, flexible scales 15-20 mm long; the bracts just above the scales are the longest of any spruce, occasionally just exserted and visible on the closed cones. They are green or reddish, maturing pale brown 5-7 months after pollination. The
seeds are black, 3 mm long, with a slender, 7-9 mm long pale brown wing.
Range
Sitka Spruce is native to the west coast of
North America, with its northwestern limit on
Kodiak Island,
Alaska, and its southeastern limit near
Fort Bragg in northern
California . It is closely associated with the
temperate rain forests and is found within a few kilometers of the coast in the southern portion of its range. North of Oregon, its range extends inland along river floodplains, but nowhere does its range extend more than 80 km from the
Pacific Ocean and its inlets.
More than a century of logging has left only a remnant of the spruce forest. The largest trees were cut long before careful measurements could be made. Trees over 90 m tall may still be seen in the
Pacific Rim National Park on
Vancouver Island,
British Columbia , and in the
Olympic National Park,
Washington and
Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park,
California ; two at the last site are just over 96 m tall. The
Queets Spruce is the largest in the world with a wood volume of 337 cubic meters . It is located near the Queets River in
Olympic National Park, about 27 km from the Pacific Ocean. The
Quinault Lake Spruce is the third largest in the world with a wood volume of 298 cubic meters . It is located near the eastern tip of
Lake Quinault north of
Aberdeen, Washington, about 39 km from the Pacific Ocean.
Sitka Spruce is a long-lived tree, with individuals over 700 years old known. Because it grows rapidly under favorable conditions, large size may not indicate exceptional age. The
Queets Spruce has been estimated to be only 350 to 450 years old, but adds more than a cubic meter of wood each year .
A unique specimen with golden foliage that used to grow on the
Queen Charlotte Islands, known as
Kiidk'yaas, is sacred to the
Haida Native American people. It was illegally felled, although saplings grown from cuttings can now be found near its original site.
Uses
Sitka Spruce is of major importance in
forestry for
timber and
paper production. It is used widely in
piano,
violin, and
guitar manufacture, as its high strength-to-weight ratio and regular, knot-free rings make it an excellent conductor of sound. The
Steinway and Sons piano company is well known for using exclusively Sitka spruce soundboards in its pianos. This wood is an important material for
homebuilt aircraft for the same reasons.
Outside of its native range, it is particularly valued for its fast growth on poor soils and exposed sites where few other trees can be grown successfully; in ideal conditions young trees may grow 1.5 m per year. It is naturalized in some parts of Britain and
New Zealand, though not so extensively as to be considered an invasive weed tree.
Newly grown tips of Sitka Spruce branches are used to flavour
spruce beer.
References and external links
- Van Pelt, R. 2001. Forest Giants of the Pacific Coast. University of Washington Press. ISBN 0-295-98140-7.
- Griffin, J. R. & Critchfield, W. B. 1976. Distribution of forest trees in California. USDA Forest Service Research Paper PSW-82: 23-24, 75.
