Stem: crown conic; young branches appearing whorled, drooping or not; bark thin, scaly; twig with persistent, peg-like, spreading, < 2 mm leaf bases, glabrous or hairy; bud conic to ovoid, resinous.
Leaf: often crowded toward upper side of twigs, generally < 3 cm, sessile, +- 4-angled or flat, stiff, often strong-smelling when crushed.
Seed Cone: conspicuously terminal or not, pendent, 5--12 cm, maturing 1st year; stalk 0--1 cm; bract included, +- free from scale.
Seed: wing terminal.
Chromosomes: 2n=24.
Species In Genus: 34 species: northern hemisphere.
Etymology: (Latin: pitch)
Note: Trunks, especially of
Picea sitchensis, more flared or buttressed at base than other California conifers.
Jepson eFlora Author: J. Robert Haller, Nancy J. Vivrette, & James R. Griffin
Index of California Plant Names (ICPN; linked via the Jepson Online Interchange)Key to Picea
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