Black Spruce (Picea mariana)

Form

Small tree seldom exceeding 60 feet in height and 1 foot in diameter in Wisconsin and is often a stunted tree, less than 30 feet high. The crown is dense, narrow, conical in form, with dropping branches, extending nearly to the ground.

Bark

Thin and broken on surface into thin gray-brown scales.

Leaf

Needles, bluish-green, short, pointed, four-sided; length 1/2 inch; arrangement of needles on branch not two-ranked.

Fruit

Cones oval shaped; length about 1 inch, matures in one season, light brown in color when ripe, after shedding seed in fall can persist on trees indefinitely. Seeds small, about 1/8 inch long, dark brown and winged.

Range

Found in poorly drained swamps and occasionally on well-drained slopes in northern Wisconsin. Often associated with tamarack, balsam fir and white spruce.

Wood

Yellow-white, light, soft and medium strong; used mainly for paper pulp.