1081

Tree
Perennial
Monoecious

Habitat: Common to dominant in spruce and spruce-fir forests at high elevations, scattered in northern hardwood forests, heath balds, boulderfield forests, ridges, and rarely coves, also in bogs or swampy forests at lower elevations (in NC not below 1000 m), ranging in moisture tolerance from dry ridges (though these are often fog-bathed) to saturated peats, and sometimes planted and naturalized. Picea rubens appears as scattered individuals ("natural waifs") at lower elevations than it is usually found; these seem to reflect sporadic seeding and short term survival and growth from some natural means, per Weakley's Flora

Native to the Carolinas & Georgia

Uncommon in NC Mountains, rare or waifs elsewhere in GA-NC-SC

CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.

LEAVES:
Evergreen
Leaves needle-like, 4-sided, to 5/8" long
Needles not in bundles, arranged on all sides of twig (less dense below)

"FLOWER":
Spring/Summer
Unisexual

FRUIT:
Fall
Cone

 

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