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Beckers, Eric

Picea engelmannii

Picea engelmannii Parry ex Engelm.

Engelmann's Spruce, Engelmann Spruce

Pinaceae (Pine Family)

Synonym(s):

USDA Symbol: PIEN

USDA Native Status: L48 (N), CAN (N)

Large tree with dark or blue-green foliage and a dense, narrow, conical crown of short branches spreading in close rows. Engelmann’s spruce is a narrow, spire-like evergreen, usually growing 75-100 ft. tall, sometimes much taller. Its branches descend to sweep the ground and conceal the trunk. The coniferous needles are dark blue-green.

Its resonant qualities make the wood of Engelmann Spruce valuable for piano sounding boards and violins. This species was named after George Engelmann (1809-84), the German-born physician and botanist of St. Louis and authority on conifers.

The species of this plant is named for George Engelmann (1809-1884) who was born in Germany and settled in St. Louis, Missouri, as a young man. He was a physician and botanist, describing especially North American Abies (Firs), Agaves, Cactus (for which he described more than 108 species), Cuscuta (Dodder), Euphorbiaceae (Spurge Family), Juncus (Rushes), Juniperus (“Cedar”), Pinus (Pines), Vitis (Grapes), and Yuccas. When he died much of his collection went to Missouri Botanical Garden.

From the Image Gallery

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