Engelmann spruce
- Latin name: Picea engelmannii Parry ex Engelm.
- French name: Épinette d'Engelmann
- Synonym(s): Columbian spruce mountain spruce , silver spruce , white spruce
- Taxonomic Serial Number: 183291
Description
Leaves
Form
- Curved
- Somewhat flexible
- Aromatic when crushed
- Tip pointed or blunt
- Upper needles on a horizontal twig tending to point toward the tip
Length
- 15–25 mm
Colour
- Bluish-green, often coated with a whitish powder
- Lines of white dots on all sides
Buds
Form
- Conical
- Non-resinous
- Scales rounded
- Outer scales long-pointed, slightly reflexed
Colour
- Light brown
Twigs
Form
- Somewhat hairy
Colour
- Greyish to light brown
Seed cones (mature)
Form
- Cylindrical to narrowly ovoid
- Shiny
Length
- 3–7 cm
Colour
- Scales yellowish-brown
Structure
- Scales thin, flexible, loose-fitting, tapered at both ends
- Irregularly toothed and often split at the tip
- Bracts comparatively prominent
Timing
- Cones open in autumn
- Shed during winter or following spring, often retain some seeds
Seeds
Length
- Seed 2–4 mm
- Seed wing 5–8 mm
Colour
- Dark brown
Bark
Form
- Thin, broken into large, loose, coarse, rounded scales
- Newly exposed bark resinous
Colour
- Brownish
- Newly exposed bark silvery-white
Wood
Uses
- Wood pulp, lumber
Size
Height
- To 35 m; 55-m-high trees reported
Diameter
- To 90 cm
Maximum age
- 300 years
Tree form
Forest-grown
Crown
- Dense, symmetrical, narrow, spire-like
- Lower branches often sloping downward
- Secondary branches may hang vertically
Habitat
Site
- Mountain slopes at elevations between 1000 and 2000 m, along streams at lower elevations
- Frequently forms part of the alpine tree line
Light tolerance
- Shade-tolerant
Associated species
- Occurs in pure stands, more often mixed with subalpine fir, western hemlock, western larch, lodgepole pine, birches, and aspen
Range
Interior British Columbia, adjacent parts of Alberta, southward into the United States
Photos
Photos
Anthony Scullion
Insects and mites
Insects that cause damage to this tree.
-
Poplar-and-willow borer
Scientific name: Cryptorhynchus lapathi (Linnaeus).
-
Spruce beetle
Scientific name: Dendroctonus rufipennis (Kirby)
Cones or seeds
- Enypia venata (Grote)
-
Filament bearer
Scientific name: Nematocampa resistaria (Herrich-Schaffer)
-
Two-year cycle spruce budworm
Scientific name: Choristoneura occidentalis biennis (Freeman)
-
Western spruce budworm
Scientific name: Choristoneura occidentalis occidentalis Freeman
Foliage or buds
- Coleotechnites atrupictella (Dietz)
-
Cooley spruce gall adelgid
Scientific name: Adelges cooleyi (Gillette)
-
Dioryctria moth
Scientific name: Dioryctria pseudotsugella Munroe
-
Douglas-fir bud moth
Scientific name: Zeiraphera hesperiana (Mutuura & Freeman)
- Enypia griseata (Grossbeck)
- Enypia venata (Grote)
- Feralia comstocki Grote
-
Filament bearer
Scientific name: Nematocampa resistaria (Herrich-Schaffer)
-
Fir needle inchworm
Scientific name: Eupithecia lariciata (Frey.)
- Gabriola dyari (Taylor)
-
Gelechiid moth
Scientific name: Chionodes continuella (Zeller)
-
Gray spruce looper
Scientific name: Caripeta divisata Walker
-
Green larch looper
Scientific name: Semiothisa sexmaculata (Packard)
-
Green velvet looper
Scientific name: Epirrita autumnata (Harrison)
-
Greenheaded spruce sawfly
Scientific name: Pikonema dimmockii Cresson
-
Greenstriped forest looper
Scientific name: Melanolophia imitata (Walker)
-
Greenstriped webspinning sawfly
Scientific name: Acantholyda balanata (MacGillivray)
- Hydriomena irata Swett
-
Larch pug moth
Scientific name: Eupithecia annulata (Hulst)
-
Lodgepole terminal weevil
Scientific name: Pissodes terminalis (Hopping)
- Pero behrensaria (Packard)
-
Pero moth
Scientific name: Pero morrisonaria (Hy. Edwards)
-
Pine measuringworm moth
Scientific name: Hypagyrtis piniata (Pack.)
-
Poplar-and-willow borer
Scientific name: Cryptorhynchus lapathi (Linnaeus).
- Pristiphora leechi Wong and Ross
-
Purplestriped shootworm
Scientific name: Zeiraphera unfortunana Powell
-
Redlined conifer caterpillar
Scientific name: Feralia jocosa (Gn.)
-
Saddleback looper
Scientific name: Ectropis crepuscularia (Denis and Schiffermuller)
-
Small pine looper
Scientific name: Eupithecia palpata Pack.
-
Speckled green fruitworm
Scientific name: Orthosia hibisci (Guenée)
-
Spruce climbing cutworm
Scientific name: Syngrapha alias (Ottolengui)
-
Spruce fir looper
Scientific name: Macaria signaria dispuncta (Walker)
-
Spruce needleworm, Paler dolichomia moth
Scientific name: Dolichomia thymetusalis (Walker)
- Synaxis pallulata (Hulst)
- Syngrapha celsa (Henry Edwards)
- Thallophaga hyperborea (Hulst)
- Tolype dayi (Blackmore)
-
Two-year cycle spruce budworm
Scientific name: Choristoneura occidentalis biennis (Freeman)
-
Twolined larch sawfly
Scientific name: Anoplonyx laricivorus (Rohwer et Middleton)
-
Western false hemlock looper
Scientific name: Nepytia freemani (Munroe)
-
Western hemlock looper
Scientific name: Lambdina fiscellaria lugubrosa (Hulst)
-
Western larch sawfly
Scientific name: Anoplonyx occidens Ross
-
Western spruce budworm
Scientific name: Choristoneura occidentalis occidentalis Freeman
-
White pine weevil
Scientific name: Pissodes strobi (Peck)
-
Whitelined looper
Scientific name: Epirrita pulchraria (Taylor)
-
Whitetriangle leafroller
Scientific name: Clepsis persicana (Fitch)
- Xestia mustelina (Smith)
-
Yellowheaded spruce sawfly
Scientific name: Pikonema alaskensis (Rohwer)
-
Yellowlined forest looper
Scientific name: Cladara limitaria (Walker)
Roots, bark, stem or trunk, or branches
Diseases caused by pathogens
Diseases caused by pathogens that cause damage to this tree.
Black stain root disease
Pathogen name: Grosmannia wageneri (Goheen & F.W. Cobb) Zipfel, Z.W. Beer & M.J. Wingf.
Brown cubical butt and pocket rot of cedar
Pathogen name: Oligoporus sericeomollis (Romell) Bondartseva
-
Black stain root disease
Pathogen name: Grosmannia wageneri (Goheen & F.W. Cobb) Zipfel, Z.W. Beer & M.J. Wingf.
-
Brown cubical butt and pocket rot of cedar
Pathogen name: Oligoporus sericeomollis (Romell) Bondartseva
-
Brown cubical sap rot
Pathogen name: Gloeophyllum sepiarium (Wulfen: Fr.) P. Karst.
Cones or seeds
-
Brown felt blight
Pathogen name: Herpotrichia juniperi (Duby) Petr.
-
Inland spruce cone rust
Pathogen name: Chrysomyxa pirolata G. Wint. in Rabenh.
-
Large-spored spruce – Labrador tea rust
Pathogen name: Chrysomyxa ledicola (Peck) Lagerh.
-
Sirococcus Shoot Blight
Pathogen name: Sirococcus conigenus (Dc.) Cannon & Minter
Foliage or buds
Small-spored spruce-Labrador tea rusts
- Chrysomyxa nagodhii P.E. Crane
- Chrysomyxa neoglandulosi P.E. Crane
-
Brown felt blight
Pathogen name: Herpotrichia juniperi (Duby) Petr.
-
Large-spored spruce – Labrador tea rust
Pathogen name: Chrysomyxa ledicola (Peck) Lagerh.
-
Needle cast (Lirula macrospora)
Pathogen name: Lirula macrospora (R. Hartig) Darker
-
Sirococcus Shoot Blight
Pathogen name: Sirococcus conigenus (Dc.) Cannon & Minter
-
Small-spored spruce-Labrador tea rusts
Pathogen names:
- Chrysomyxa nagodhii P.E. Crane
- Chrysomyxa neoglandulosi P.E. Crane
-
Spruce broom rust
Pathogen name: Chrysomyxa arctostaphyli Dietel
Roots, bark, stem or trunk, or branches
Brown cubical butt and pocket rot of cedar
Pathogen name: Oligoporus sericeomollis (Romell) Bondartseva
Pitted sap rot
Pathogen name: Trichaptum abietinum (Dicks.) Ryvarden (Common names for this fungus: purple conk fungus, purple-toothed polypore)
Distribution map
