Spermatophytes (seed plants): Gymnosperms (non-flowering plants): Conifers: Pinales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Picea rubens
FAMILY
Pinaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
Learn more about Red Spruce from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Picea rubens
FAMILY
Pinaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Picea rubens
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Picea rubens
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 016-02-001:
Picea rubens FAMILY Pinaceae
INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Picea australis
INCLUDING Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Picea rubens
COMMON NAME:
Red Spruce, He Balsam
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905) mtna_i_069
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_piru_001_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide pnd_piru_003_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm160503_263
May Jackson County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm160503_267
May Jackson County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Pollen cones terminal or subterminal, oval, and bright red at maturity, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
)
JK Marlow jkm0407t_20
July Mitchell County NC
The Roan Highlands
Cones pendant, 1.25-2" long, reddish-brown, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).
COMPARE
cones of Fir, Hemlock and Spruce
)
JK Marlow jkm0507g_26
July Pocahontas County WV
Cranberry Glades Botanical Area
COMPARE
conifers (not including Pines)
)
JK Marlow jkm0507g_27
July Pocahontas County WV
Cranberry Glades Botanical Area
)
JK Marlow jkm0507n_10
July Transylvania County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
The living trees are Red Spruce; the dead trees are Fraser Fir.
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_p_rubens_6
July
)
JK Marlow jkm0508b_35
August Transylvania County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm0508b_36
August Transylvania County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Needles bright green without white bands below, much shorter than Abies, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
COMPARE
needles of Fir, Hemlock and Spruce
)
JK Marlow jkm0508b_36b
August Transylvania County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Leaves 4-sided, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).
)
JK Marlow s050806_kl
August Transylvania County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Leaves [needles] attached to peglike bases on twigs, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).
)
JK Marlow jkm080924_052
September Transylvania County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
L.L. (Chick) Gaddy llg_fraserfirredspruce
Month Unknown
Left: soft balsam-scented needles of Fraser Fir. Right: prickly Red Spruce, per Alpine South: Plants and Plant Communities of the High Elevations of the Southern Appalachians (Gaddy, 2014).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Picea rubens
FAMILY
Pinaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Picea rubens
FAMILY
Pinaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Picea rubens
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Picea rubens
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 016-02-001:
Picea rubens
FAMILY
Pinaceae
INCLUDING
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Picea australis
INCLUDING
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Picea rubens
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
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Identifying Trees: An All-Season Guide to Eastern North America (Williams, 2007) p370
- Landscaping with Native Trees (Sternberg & Wilson, 1995) p166
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007) p261
- Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988) p037
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p02
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p248
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p236
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