North Carolina Wildflowers, Shrubs, & Trees

by Jeffrey S. Pippen | Back to Jeff's Plant Page | Jeff's Nature Pages


Pinaceae>Picea

Red Spruce (Picea rubens) Red Spruce (Picea rubens)
Avery Co., NC
26 July 2006

Common to uncommon and widespread in the NC mountains from ridgetops to bogs.

Red Spruce (Picea rubens) Red Spruce (Picea rubens)
Avery Co., NC
26 July 2006

Spruce trees have a stiffer, rougher feel than fir trees.

Red Spruce (Picea rubens) Red Spruce (Picea rubens)
Avery Co., NC
26 July 2006

Unlike the round leaf bases and scars found on fir trees, spruce needles are attached to the twig by a square peg. When the needles fall off, the square pegs remain, making spruce branches rough.


The following species do not occur in North Carolina

Englenmann Spruce (Picea engelmannii) Engelmann Spruce (Picea engelmannii)
Clearwater Co., ID
12 May 2010

Native to high elevations in western North America.

Englenmann Spruce (Picea engelmannii) Engelmann Spruce (Picea engelmannii)
Clearwater Co., ID
12 May 2010



Annotated habitat and distribution information listed above is from Radford, Ahles, & Bell. 1968. Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas. UNC Press; and from personal observations and discussions with Will Cook, Harry LeGrand, and Bob Wilbur. Common names from personal experience and supplemented by the following resources USDA plants website, Flora of the Carolinas, Virginia, and Georgia, and NatureServe.


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Created on Aug 8, 2006 | jeffpippen9@gmail.com