Plantae > Tracheophyta > Pinopsida > Pinales > Pinaceae > Picea > Picea mariana
 

Picea mariana (Black spruce; Bog spruce; Swamp spruce)

Synonyms: Abies denticulata; Abies mariana; Picea brevifolia
Language: Dut; Fre; Ger; Hrv, Srp; Hun; Ita; Spa

Wikipedia Abstract

Picea mariana (Black Spruce) is a species of spruce native to northern North America, from Newfoundland to Alaska, and south to northern New York, Minnesota and central British Columbia. This area is also known as the taiga forest, in the Taiga and Boreal forests biome.
View Wikipedia Record: Picea mariana

Attributes

Height [3]  65 feet (20 m)
Width [3]  13.1 feet (4 m)
Air Quality Improvement [1]  None
Allergen Potential [1]  Medium-Low
Carbon Capture [1]  Medium-Low
Screening - Summer [2]  Dense
Screening - Winter [2]  Dense
Shade Percentage [1]  91 %
Temperature Reduction [1]  Medium
Wind Reduction [1]  Medium-High
Hardiness Zone Minimum [1]  USDA Zone: 3 Low Temperature: -40 F° (-40 C°) → -30 F° (-34.4 C°)
Hardiness Zone Maximum [1]  USDA Zone: 5 Low Temperature: -20 F° (-28.9 C°) → -10 F° (-23.3 C°)
Light Preference [2]  Mostly Shady
Soil Acidity [2]  Moderate Acid
Soil Fertility [2]  Intermediate
Water Use [1]  Moderate
Flower Color [2]  Yellow
Foliage Color [2]  Green
Fruit Color [2]  Brown
Bloom Period [2]  Late Spring
Drought Tolerance [2]  Low
Edible [3]  May be edible. See the Plants For A Future link below for details.
Fire Tolerance [2]  None
Flower Type [3]  Monoecious
Frost Free Days [2]  60 days
Fruit/Seed Abundance [2]  Medium
Fruit/Seed Begin [2]  Summer
Fruit/Seed End [2]  Summer
Growth Form [2]  Single Stem
Growth Period [2]  Summer
Growth Rate [2]  Slow
Hazards [3]  The sawdust, the resin from the trunk and even the needles can cause dermatitis in some people;
Janka Hardness [4]  520 lbf (236 kgf) Very Soft
Leaf Type [3]  Evergreen
Lifespan [2]  Perennial
Pollinators [3]  Wind
Propagation [2]  Bare Root, Container, Cutting, Seed
Root Depth [2]  16 inches (41 cm)
Scent [3]  The crushed foliage has a strong scent of balsam or lemon balm.
Seed Spread Rate [2]  Slow
Seed Vigor [2]  Medium
Seeds Per [2]  404799 / lb (892430 / kg)
Shape/Orientation [2]  Conical
Specific Gravity [5]  0.46
Structure [3]  Tree
Usage [3]  A yellow-orange dye is obtained from the cones; Various native North American Indian tribes made a string from the long roots of this species and used it to stitch the bark of their canoes, to sew baskets etc; The pitch obtained from the trunk has been used as a sealing material on the hulls of canoes; Wood - light, soft, not strong; It weighs 28lb per cubic foot; Since it is a smaller tree than the other spruces, it is not an important lumber source for uses such as construction; However, it is widely used for making boxes, crates etc;
Vegetative Spread Rate [2]  Slow
View Plants For A Future Record : Picea mariana

Protected Areas

Name IUCN Category Area acres Location Species Website Map Climate Land Use
Acadia National Park II 35996 Maine, United States
Algonquin Provincial Park IV 1868802 Ontario, Canada
Banff National Park II 1690912 Alberta, Canada
Bruce Peninsula National Park II   Ontario, Canada
Cape Breton Highlands National Park II 234333 Nova Scotia, Canada  
Denali Biosphere Reserve 1932364 Alaska, United States
Elk Island National Park II 47171 Alberta, Canada
Forillon National Park II 61010 Quebec, Canada  
Fundy National Park II 52716 New Brunswick, Canada
Georgian Bay Islands National Park II   Ontario, Canada
Gros Morne National Park II 476632 Newfoundland, Canada
Isle Royale Biosphere Reserve Ib 571799 Michigan, United States
Jasper National Park II 2776809 Alberta, Canada
Kejimkujik National Park II 94203 Nova Scotia, Canada
Kluane National Park and Reserve National Park Reserve II 5463436 Yukon, Canada
Kouchibouguac National Park II 59161 New Brunswick, Canada
La Mauricie National Park II 131706 Quebec, Canada
Lake Clark National Park and Preserve Ib 386679 Alaska, United States
Lake Superior Provincial Park IV 351011 Ontario, Canada
Mingan Archipelago National Park Reserve II 20461 Quebec, Canada
Nahanni National Park Reserve II 1309627 Northwest Territories, Canada
Niagara Escarpment Biosphere Reserve 470167 Ontario, Canada  
Polar Bear Provincial Park 5502026 Ontario, Canada
Prince Albert National Park II 976762 Saskatchewan, Canada
Prince Edward Island National Park II   Prince Edward Island, Canada  
Pukaskwa National Park II 459860 Ontario, Canada
Riding Mountain Biosphere Reserve II 762028 Manitoba, Canada
Terra Nova National Park IV 125894 Newfoundland, Canada
Vuntut National Park II 1076795 Yukon, Canada
Wapusk National Park II 2614324 Manitoba, Canada
Winisk River Provincial Park II 434735 Ontario, Canada
Wood Buffalo National Park II 11038545 Alberta, Canada
Woodland Caribou Provincial Wilderness Park Provincial Park II 1072124 Ontario, Canada

Ecosystems

Emblem of

Newfoundland & Labrador

Predators

Acleris variana (Black-headed budworm)[6]
Adelges abietis (Aphid)[7]
Adelges laricis[7]
Adelges viridis[7]
Amorbia humerosana[6]
Anacamptodes vellivolata[6]
Archips alberta[6]
Archips packardiana[6]
Archips strianus[6]
Argyresthia mariana[6]
Argyrotaenia occultana[6]
Argyrotaenia velutinana[6]
Assara cedrella[6]
Caripeta divisata (gray spruce looper)[6]
Choristoneura fumiferana[6]
Choristoneura pinus (Jack Pine Budworm)[6]
Coleotechnites atrupictella[6]
Coleotechnites canusella[6]
Coleotechnites ducharmei[6]
Coleotechnites piceaella (Orange Spruce Needleminer)[6]
Cydia strobilella <Unverified Name>[7]
Cydia youngana[6]
Dasychira manto[6]
Dasychira plagiata (Northern Pine Tussock)[6]
Dasychira vagans[6]
Dioryctria abietella[6]
Dioryctria abietivorella[6]
Dolichomia thymetusalis[6]
Dryocoetes autographus[7]
Dysstroma truncata (Common Marbled Carpet Moth)[6]
Elaphria versicolor (Variegated Midget)[6]
Elatobium abietinum (Spruce aphid)[7]
Endothenia albolineana[6]
Epinotia hypsidryas[6]
Epinotia nanana[6]
Epinotia septemberana[6]
Erethizon dorsatum (common porcupine)[8]
Ernobius bicolor[9]
Eufidonia discospilata[6]
Eufidonia notataria (Powder Moth)[6]
Eupithecia albicapitata[6]
Eupithecia annulata[6]
Eupithecia casloata[6]
Eupithecia filmata[6]
Eupithecia fletcherata (Fletcher's Larch Looper)[6]
Eupithecia gibsonata[6]
Eupithecia lariciata (Larch Pug)[6]
Eupithecia luteata[6]
Eupithecia palpata (Small Pine Looper)[6]
Eupithecia transcanadata[6]
Hyalophora columbia (Columbia Silkmoth)[6]
Hydriomena divisaria[6]
Hydriomena renunciata[6]
Hypagyrtis piniata (pine measuringworm)[6]
Incisalia lanoraieensis[6]
Mindarus obliquus[7]
Nepytia canosaria (false hemlock looper)[6]
Panthea acronyctoides (Black Zigzag)[6]
Panthea furcilla (Tufted White Pine Caterpillar)[6]
Paralobesia piceana[6]
Pineus similis[7]
Pineus strobi[7]
Semiothisa granitata[6]
Solenobia walshella[6]
Sparganothis tristriata[6]
Syngrapha alias (Hooked Silver Y)[6]
Syngrapha rectangula (Salt and Pepper Looper)[6]
Syngrapha selecta (Chosen Looper Moth)[6]
Tamiasciurus hudsonicus (red squirrel)[10]
Tinea pellionella (Case-bearing Clothes Moth)[6]
Tolype laricis[6]
Xestia dilucida (Dull Reddish Dart)[6]
Xestia praevia[6]
Zeiraphera canadensis (Spruce Bud Moth)[6]
Zeiraphera ratzeburgiana (Spruce bud moth)[6]
Dendroctonus rufipennis (spruce beetle)[8]
Tamiasciurus hudsonicus[8]

Consumers

Shelter for 
Falco columbarius (Merlin)[8]
Dendroctonus rufipennis (spruce beetle)[8]
Tamiasciurus hudsonicus[8]

Range Map

Link to Map
Boreal North America: from Newfoundland and New Jersey to interior Alaska TDWG: 70 ASK NUN NWT YUK 71 ABT BRC MAN SAS 72 LAB NBR NFL-NE NFL-SP NSC ONT PEI QUE 74 MIN WIS 75 CNT MAI MAS MIC NWH PEN RHO VER; Boreal North America: from Newfoundland and New Jersey to interior Alaska. TDWG: 70 ASK NUN NWT YUK 71 ABT BRC MAN SAS 72 LAB NBR NFL-NE NFL-SP NSC ONT PEI QUE 74 MIN WIS 75 CNT MAI MAS MIC NWH PEN RHO VER;

External References

USDA Plant Profile

Photos

Citations

Species recognized by Farjon A., Jul-2011, Conifer Database in Catalog of Life 2011
Attributes / relations provided by ♦ 1i-Tree Species v. 4.0, developed by the USDA Forest Service's Northern Research Station and SUNY-ESF using the Horticopia, Inc. plant database. ♦ 2USDA Plants Database, U. S. Department of Agriculture ♦ 3Plants For A Future licensed under a Creative Commons License ♦ 4Wood Janka Hardness Scale/Chart J W Morlan's Unique Wood Gifts ♦ 5Forest Inventory and Analysis DB version 5.1, May 4, 2013, U.S. Forest Service ♦ 6HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants Gaden S. Robinson, Phillip R. Ackery, Ian J. Kitching, George W. Beccaloni AND Luis M. Hernández ♦ 7Biological Records Centre Database of Insects and their Food Plants ♦ 8Making The Forest And Tundra Wildlife Connection ♦ 9Negron, Jose F. 1995. Cone and Seed Insects Associated with Piñon Pine. In: Shaw, Douglas W.; Aldon, Earl F.; LoSapio, Carol, technical coordinators. Desired future conditions for piñon- juniper ecosystems: Proceedings of the symposium; 1994 August 8-12; Flagstaff, AZ. Gen. Tech. Rep. RM-258. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station: 97-106. ♦ 10Exploring the Denali Food Web, ParkWise, National Park Service
Protected Areas provided by Biological Inventories of the World's Protected Areas in cooperation between the Information Center for the Environment at the University of California, Davis and numerous collaborators.
Images provided by Google Image Search
Abstract provided by DBpedia licensed under a Creative Commons License
Range map provided by Digital representation of "Atlas of United States Trees" by Elbert L. Little, Jr., U.S. Geological Survey, 1999
Weather provided by NOAA METAR Data Access