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SERBIAN SPRUCE

Picea omorika

Pine Family [Pinaceae]

month8apr month8april month8may

category
category8Trees
 
category
category8Coniferous
 
category
category8Evergreen
 
status
statusZneophyte
 
flower
flower8red
male
flower
flower8bicolour
female
petals
petalsZ0
 
stem
stem8round
 
sex
sexZmonoecious
 

19th May 2011, Nr. Denshaw, Gtr M/cr. Photo: © RWD
Native to Serbia and now cultivated in gardens as an ornamental tree. Grows up to 30m high (sometimes up to 50m) with the overall width of the tree being up to 10m. It has a church-spire like habit but this specimen is still quite young. The branches aim downwards before arching back up again at their tips.


19th May 2011, Nr. Denshaw, Gtr M/cr. Photo: © RWD
Female cones.


19th May 2011, Nr. Denshaw, Gtr M/cr. Photo: © RWD
The female cones are red and on the uppermost branches (as opposed to crimson for the male cones).


19th May 2011, Nr. Denshaw, Gtr M/cr. Photo: © RWD
These are still female flowers, but ones which have opened up a little and beginning to turn into brown cones at their tips. Later they turn pendulous to ripen a dark purple colour in October.


19th May 2011, Nr. Denshaw, Gtr M/cr. Photo: © RWD
These young male pollen cones are a tamer red and have not yet expanded but are soon to shed theor pollen, and then die and drop off. They are axillary and are borne just below new shoots and either occur singly or in clusters. (The two narrower pale brownish objects with curled-back flaps might(?) be new branches?)


19th May 2011, Nr. Denshaw, Gtr M/cr. Photo: © RWD
Male flower (cone) [right], two new branches [left] (your Author assumes...)


19th May 2011, Nr. Denshaw, Gtr M/cr. Photo: © RWD
Male flowers [top and bottom]..


19th May 2011, Nr. Denshaw, Gtr M/cr. Photo: © RWD
Male flower [top]. The leaves are linear and green on top, similar to those of Sitka Spruce but more blunt at the tip.


19th May 2011, Nr. Denshaw, Gtr M/cr. Photo: © RWD
But underneath the leaves have a groove along the centreline and are covered in white dots. the tips of the leaves terminate abruptly in a rounded blunt, but slightly pointed, tip. The leaves join onto the woody branch via a raised knob (aka pulvinus).


19th May 2011, Nr. Denshaw, Gtr M/cr. Photo: © RWD
The bark is a orange-brown to copper coloured.


19th May 2011, Nr. Denshaw, Gtr M/cr. Photo: © RWD
The bark breaks up into irregular plates and looking like it easily falls off with anything but a gentle touch.


19th May 2011, Nr. Denshaw, Gtr M/cr. Photo: © RWD
The bark gets covered in a green lichen on the north side (in the UK).


Some similarities to : Sitka Spruce (Picea sitchensis) but this can grow much taller (70 to 95m) and up to 15m wide but is still assumes the same kind of narrow concial shape. The cones are slightly longer at up to 10cm.

Slight resemblance to : White Spruce (Picea glauca) assumes a much wider pyramidal shape at not such a narrow angle as Serbian Spruce, but more like a ~60° cone.

The cone (not shown) is short, up to 6cm long.


  Picea omorika  ⇐ Global Aspect ⇒ Pinaceae  

Distribution
 family8Pine family8Pinaceae
 BSBI maps
genus8Picea
Picea
(Spruce)

SERBIAN SPRUCE

Picea omorika

Pine Family [Pinaceae]