Handbook of the Trees of New England Part 3

Maine,--common throughout, covering extensive areas almost to the exclusion of other trees in the central and northern sections, occasional on the top of Katahdin (5215 feet); New Hamps.h.i.+re and Vermont,--common in sphagnum swamps of low and high alt.i.tudes; the dwarf form, var. _semi-prostrata_, occurs on the summit of Mt. Mansfield (_Flora of Vermont_, 1900); Ma.s.sachusetts,--frequent; Rhode Island,--not reported; Connecticut,--rare; on north sh.o.r.e of Spectacle ponds in Kent (Litchfield county), at an elevation of 1200 feet; Newton (Fairfield county), a few scattered trees in a swamp at an alt.i.tude of 400 feet: (New Haven county) a few small trees at Bethany; at Middlebury abundant in a swamp of five acres (E. B. Harger, _Rhodora_, II, 126).

South along the mountains to North Carolina and Tennessee; west through the northern tier of states to Minnesota.

=Habit.=--In New England, usually a small, slender tree, 10-30 feet high and 5-8 inches in diameter; attaining northward and westward much greater dimensions; reduced at high elevation to a shrub or dwarf tree, 2 or 3 feet high; trunk tapering very slowly, forming a narrow-based, conical, more or less irregular head; branches rather short, scarcely whorled, horizontal or more frequently declining with an upward tendency at the ends, often growing in open swamps almost to the ground, the lowest prostrate, sometimes rooting at their tips and sending up shoots; spray stiff and rather slender; foliage dark bluish-green or glaucous.

This tree often begins to blossom after attaining a height of 2-5 feet, the terminal cones each season remaining persistent at the base of the branches, sometimes for many years.

=Bark.=--Bark of trunk grayish-brown, separating into rather close, thin scales; branchlets roughened with the footstalks of the fallen leaves; twigs in autumn dull reddish-brown with a minute, erect, pale, rusty p.u.b.escence, or nearly smooth.

=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Buds scaly, ovate, pointed, reddish-brown.

Leaves scattered, needle-shaped, dark bluish-green, the upper sides becoming yellowish in the sunlight, the faces marked by parallel rows of minute bluish dots which sometimes give a glaucous effect to the lower surface or even the whole leaf on the new shoots, 4-angled, 1/4-3/4 of an inch long, straight or slightly incurved, blunt at the apex, abruptly tipped or mucronate, sessile on persistent, decurrent footstalks.

=Inflorescence.=--April to May, a week or two earlier than the red spruce; sterile flowers terminal or axillary, on wood of the preceding year; about 3/8 inch long, ovate; anthers madder-red: fertile flowers at or near end of season's shoots, erect; scales madder-red, spirally imbricated, broader than long, margin erose, rarely entire.

=Fruit.=--Cones, single or cl.u.s.tered at or near ends of the season's shoots, attached to the upper side of the twig, but turning downward by the twisting of the stout stalk, often persistent for years; 1/2-1-1/2 inches long; purplish or grayish brown at the end of the first season, finally becoming dull reddish or grayish brown, ovate, ovate-oval, or nearly globular when open; scales rigid, thin, reddish on the inner surface; margin rounded, uneven, eroded, bifid, or rarely entire.

=Horticultural Value.=--Best adapted to cool, moist soils; of little value under cultivation; young plants seldom preserving the broad-based, cone-like, symmetrical heads common in the spruce swamps, the lower branches dying out and the whole tree becoming scraggly and unsightly.

Seldom offered by nurserymen.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PLATE VI.--Picea nigra.]

1. Branch with sterile flowers.

2. Stamen, front view.

3. Stamen, side view.

4. Stamen, top view.

5. Branch with fertile flowers.

6. Cover-scale and ovuliferous scale, outer side.

7. Ovuliferous scale with ovules, inner side.

8. Fruiting branch.

9. Seed.

10. Leaf.

11. Cross-sections of leaves.

=Picea rubra, Link.=

_Picea rubens, Sarg. Picea nigra, var. rubra, Engelm._

RED SPRUCE.

=Habitat and Range.=--Cool, rich woods, well-drained valleys, slopes of mountains, not infrequently extending down to the borders of swamps.

Prince Edward island and Nova Scotia, along the valley of the St.

Lawrence.

Maine,--throughout: most common towards the coast and in the extreme north, thus forming a belt around the central area, where it is often quite wanting except on cool or elevated slopes; New Hamps.h.i.+re,--throughout; the most abundant conifer of upper Coos, the White mountain region where it climbs to the alpine area, and the higher parts of the Connecticut-Merrimac watershed; Vermont,--throughout; the common spruce of the Green mountains, often in dense groves on rocky slopes with thin soil; Ma.s.sachusetts,--common in the mountainous regions of Berks.h.i.+re county and on uplands in the northern sections, occasional southward; Rhode Island and Connecticut,--not reported.

South along the Alleghanies to Georgia, ascending to an alt.i.tude of 4500 feet in the Adirondacks, and 4000-5000 feet in West Virginia; west through the northern tier of states to Minnesota.

=Habit.=--A hardy tree, 40-75 feet high; trunk 1-2-1/2 feet in diameter, straight, tapering very slowly; branches longer than those of the black spruce, irregularly whorled or scattered, the lower often declined, sometimes resting on the ground, the upper rising toward the light, forming while the tree is young a rather regular, narrow, conical head, which in old age and in bleak mountain regions becomes, by the loss of branches, less symmetrical but more picturesque; foliage dark yellowish-green.

=Bark.=--Bark of trunk smoothish and mottled on young trees, at length separating into small, thin, flat, reddish scales; in old trees striate with shallow sinuses, separating into ashen-white plates, often partially detached; spray reddish or yellowish white in autumn with minute, erect, pale rusty p.u.b.escence.

=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Buds scaly, conical, brownish, 1/3 inch long.

Leaves solitary, at first closely appressed around the young shoots, ultimately pointing outward, those on the underside often twisting upward, giving a brush-like appearance to the twig, 1/2-3/4 inch long, straight or curved (curvature more marked than in _P. nigra_), needle-shaped, dark yellowish-green, 4-angled; apex blunt or more or less pointed, often mucronate; base blunt; sessile on persistent leaf-cus.h.i.+ons.

=Inflorescence.=--May. Sterile flowers terminal or axillary on wood of the preceding year, 1/2-3/4 inch long, cylindrical; anthers pinkish-red: fertile flowers lateral along previous season's shoots, erect; scales madder-purple, spirally imbricated, broader than long, margin entire or slightly erose.

=Fruit.=--Cones; single or cl.u.s.tered, lateral along the previous season's shoots, recurved, mostly pointing downward at various angles, on short stalks, falling the first autumn but sometimes persistent a year longer, 1-2 inches long (usually larger than those of _P. nigra_), reddish-brown, mostly ovate; scales thin, stiff, rounded; margin entire or slightly irregular.

=Horticultural Value.=--Hardy throughout New England; adapts itself to a great variety of soils and lives to a great age. Its narrow-based conical form, dense foliage, and yellow green coloring form an effective contrast with most other evergreens. It grows, however, slowly, is subject to the loss of its lower branches and to disfigurement by insects. Seldom offered in nurseries.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PLATE VII.--Picea rubra.]

1. Branch with sterile flowers.

2. Stamen, front view.

3. Stamen, side view.

4. Branch with fertile flowers.

5. Cover-scale and ovuliferous scale, outer side.

6. Ovuliferous scale with ovules, inner side.

7. Fruiting branch with cones of two seasons.

8. Seed.

9. Leaf.

10. Cross-sections of leaves.

=Picea alba, Link.=

_Picea Canadensis, B. S. P._

WHITE SPRUCE. CAT SPRUCE.[1] SKUNK SPRUCE.[2] LABRADOR SPRUCE.

=Habitat and Range.=--Low, damp, but not wet woods; dry, sandy soils, high rocky slopes and exposed hilltops, often in scanty soil.

[Footnote 1, 2: So called from the peculiarly unpleasant odor of the crushed foliage and young shoots,--a characteristic which readily distinguishes it from the _P. nigra_ and _P. rubra_.]

Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, through the provinces of Quebec and Ontario to Manitoba and British Columbia, northward beyond all other trees, within 20 miles of the Arctic sea.

Maine,--frequent in sandy soils, often more common than _P. rubra_, as far south as the sh.o.r.es of Cas...o...b..y; New Hamps.h.i.+re,--abundant around the sh.o.r.es of the Connecticut river, disappearing southward at Fifteen-Mile falls; Vermont,--restricted mainly to the northern sections, more common in the northeast; Ma.s.sachusetts,--occasional in the mountainous regions of Berks.h.i.+re county; a few trees in Hanc.o.c.k (A.

K. Harrington); as far south as Amherst (J. E. Humphrey) and Northampton (Mrs. Emily H. Terry), probably about the southern limit of the species; Rhode Island and Connecticut,--not reported.

West through the northern sections of the northern tier of states to the Rocky mountains.

=Habit.=--A handsome tree, 40-75 feet high, with a diameter of 1-2 feet at the ground, the trunk tapering slowly, throwing out numerous scattered or irregularly whorled, gently ascending or nearly horizontal branches, forming a symmetrical, rather broad conical head, with numerous branchlets and bluish-green glaucous foliage spread in dense planes; gum bitter.

=Bark.=--Bark of trunk pale reddish-brown or light gray, on very old trees ash-white; not as flaky as the bark of the red spruce, the scales smaller and more closely appressed; young trees and small branches much smoother, pale reddish-brown or mottled brown and gray, resembling the fir balsam; branchlets glabrous; shoots from which the leaves have fallen marked by the scaly, persistent leaf-cus.h.i.+ons; new shoots pale fawn-color at first, turning darker the second season; bark of the tree throughout decidedly lighter than that of the red or black spruces.

=Winter Buds and Leaves.=--Buds scaly, ovoid or conical, about 1/4 inch long, light brown. Leaves scattered, stout as those of _P. rubra_ or very slender, those on the lower side straight or twisted so as to appear on the upper side, giving a brush-like appearance to the twig, about 3/4 of an inch long; bluish-green, glaucous on the new shoots, needle-shaped, 4-angled, slightly curved, bluntish or sharp-pointed, often mucronate, marked on each side with several parallel rows of dots, malodorous, especially when bruised.

=Inflorescence.=--April to May. Sterile flowers terminal or axillary, on wood of the preceding season; distinctly stalked; cylindrical, 1/2 an inch long; anthers pale red: fertile flowers at or near ends of season's shoots; scales pale red or green, spirally imbricated, broader than long; margin roundish, entire or nearly so; each scale bearing two ovules.