E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Picea glauca (Moench) Voss
white spruce
Pinaceae (Pine family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Distribution of Picea glauca
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Introduction

This is an evergreen coniferous tree species that is found across Canada and in Alaska, northern Montana and Wyoming.

Species Information

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Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

General:
Tree erect, up to 40 m tall; bark silvery-brown to blackish, scaly, thin; young twigs glabrous.

Leaves:
Needles pointed, stiff; standing out in all directions; 4-angled; aromatic when crushed.

Cones:
Seed cones 2.5-3.5 cm long, becoming yellowish-brown at maturity, scales rounded to blunt at tip, smooth margined, not papery thin; pollen cones pale red.

Notes:
Hybridizes with P. engelmannii and P. sitchensis. Hybrids with P. sitchensis have been called P. x lutzii Little and occur in the Coast Mountains. Hybrids with P. engelmannii occur throughout much of interior BC; pure P. glauca is found mostly N of 56degreeN and in the Chilcotin.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

USDA Species Characteristics

Flower Colour:
Yellow

Blooming Period:
Late Spring

Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present over the Summer

Source: The USDA

Habitat / Range

Wet to dry slopes, river terraces, bogs and fens in the montane and subalpine zones; common in C and N BC, except on coast; N to AK, YT and NT, E to NF and S to N MT and WY.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Picea glauca

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)

Site Information	Value / Class
Site Information	Minimum	Average	Maximum
Elevation (metres)	0	903	2110
Slope Gradient (%)	0	13	205
Aspect (degrees) [0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]	0	289	360
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric]	0	4	8
Modal Nutrient Regime Class	C
Number of field plots species was recorded in:	3446
Modal BEC Zone Class	BWBS
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in:	BAFA(26), BWBS(1403), CWH(1), ESSF(107), ICH(105), IDF(99), IMA(1), MS(112), PP(7), SBPS(69), SBS(803), SWB(307)
Source: Klinkenberg 2020

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is montane boreal & cool temperate.

Status Information

Origin Status	Provincial Status	BC List (Red Blue List)	COSEWIC
Native	S5	Yellow	Not Listed

BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer, the authoritative source for conservation information in British Columbia.

Synonyms and Alternate Names

Picea canadensis (Mill.) Britton, Sterns & Poggenb.
Picea glauca var. albertiana (S. Br.) Sarg.
Picea glauca var. densata Bailey
Picea glauca var. porsildii Raup

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Flora North America treatment for Pinaceae
Flora North America treatment for Picea glauca
Genetic information (NCBI Taxonomy Database)
International Plant Names Index
Taxonomic Information from the World Flora Online
Integrated Taxonomic Information System

Additional Range and Status Information Links

Burke Museum of Natural History (Washington State records)
CalFlora
Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria records
Jepson Interchange
NatureServe Explorer
USDA

Additional Photo Sources

Images From CalPhoto
UT Austin's Native Plant Database
Google Image Search
Flickr Image Search

General References

Google Scholar Search
Family References
General Botanical References for BC

Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2020. E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed: 2025-01-18 3:45:32 AM ]

Disclaimer: The information contained in the E-Flora atlas pages is derived from expert sources as cited in each section. This information is scientifically based. E-Flora also acts as a portal to other sites via deep links. As always, users should refer to the original sources for complete information. E-Flora BC is not responsible for the accuracy or completeness of the original information.