Morphological characteristics
Twigs have sparse or dense short hairs, or none at all. When one year old, they are light brownish yellow, brownish yellow, light yellow brown, or light reddish brown. When two or three years old, they are gray brown, brown, or light brownish gray; Winter buds are conical in shape, with resin, and the base is swollen. The tips of the upper bud scales are slightly or not curved, while the tips of the remaining bud scales at the base of the small branches are slightly curled outward.
The leaves of the main branch radiate and extend, while the leaves on the lateral branches extend upwards. The leaves on the lower and both sides bend upwards, forming a quadrilateral strip shape with a length of 1-2 centimeters and a width of 1-1.5 millimeters. It is slightly curved and has a slightly pointed or acute tip. The cross-section is quadrilateral with stomatal lines on all four sides, with 4-8 on each side above and 4-6 on each side below.
The cone is cylindrical, rectangular or cylindrical in shape, with a gradually narrowing upper end. It is green before maturity and light brown or chestnut brown when ripe. It is 5-16 centimeters long and 2.5-3.5 centimeters in diameter; The central scales are inverted, about 2 centimeters long and 1.5 centimeters wide. If the upper part is round or truncated, they are arranged tightly, or if the upper part is blunt and triangular, they are arranged more loosely. The apex is entire, or the base of the cone or the tip of the scales in the middle and lower parts are two-fold or slightly concave; Bract scales triangular spoon shaped, approximately 5 millimeters long; The seed is inverted oval in shape, about 4 millimeters long, with wings about 1.5 centimeters long. The wings are light brown and inverted oval in shape; There are 6-7 cotyledons, cone-shaped in shape, measuring 1.4-2 cm in length. The primary leaves are square shaped and 0.5-1.2 cm in length, with pointed tips and stomatal lines on all sides. The upper part of the midrib is covered with toothed hairs. The flowering period is from April to May, and the cones mature from September to October.
Growth habit
Spruce prefers shady, cold resistant, cool and humid climates, as well as fertile and well drained slightly acidic sandy soil. It grows slowly and belongs to shallow rooted tree species. At an altitude of 2400-3600 meters, it is often mixed with purple spruce, Minjiang fir, and purple spruce, or forms a pure forest.
Spruce is a shallow rooted tree species that is slightly shade tolerant and can withstand dry and cold environmental conditions. It grows rapidly and develops well in slightly acidic brown forest soil zones with cool and moist climate, deep soil layers, and good drainage. Under full sunlight, naturally renewed forests grow vigorously.
distribution
Spruce is a native tree species in China, widely distributed in the mountainous areas of North China, and also found in places such as the Xiaoxing'an Mountains in Northeast China. Produced in the southwestern part of Shaanxi (Feng County), eastern part of Gansu (Liangdang), as well as the Bai Longjiang River Basin, Tao River Basin, upper reaches of the Minjiang River Basin in Sichuan, and the Jinchuan River Basin of various sizes,