Picea orientalis

Caucasian Spruce ( Picea orientalis)

The Caucasus spruce (Picea orientalis), also Oriental Spruce, Oriental spruce and spruce Sapindus - called, is a species of the genus spruce (Picea ) in the pine family ( Pinaceae ). It is with some cultivated forms used as an ornamental plant.

Description

The Caucasus spruce is an evergreen tree, the growth heights of up to about 33 meters in its natural home reaches up to 60 meters. The trunk can reach a diameter of 1.1 meters. The tree crown is narrow, cone- shaped; the long Leittriebe are often crooked and rotated. The bark is brown, has a few cracks and tends to peel off in flakes. The bark of the branches is only whitish, later light brown to orange - brown and hairy. The buds are small and reddish brown. The stiff, front rounded, four-sided needles are shiny dark green. With 6 to 8 mm in length, they are the shortest of all spruce species.

The Caucasus spruce is monoecious getrenntgeschlechtig ( monoecious ). The male cones are first dark red, then yellow when dusts and sit at the ends of small branches. The female cones grow in younger trees almost exclusively close to the summit, however, are distributed in old trees around the tree crown. The hanging, mature cones are about 7 inches tall, curved, pointed, brown and resinous. The seeds are winged.

Dissemination

The Caucasus spruce is native to northern Asia Minor, and especially in the local Pontic Mountains and the Caucasus. In the mountains it forms up to an altitude of 2000 meters from dense forests. Although discovered in the 18th century by European science, the Caucasus spruce was first brought to Europe around 1840. Today it is used in the moderate latitudes in gardens and parks as ornamental tree.

System

This species was first published in 1763 under the name Pinus orientalis by Carl Linnaeus in Species Plantarum, 2nd edition, 2, S. 1421. The name Picea orientalis was published in 1847 by Heinrich Friedrich Link in Linnaea, 20, p 294. Other synonyms for Picea orientalis (L.) Link are: Picea wittmanniana Carrière, Pinus abies var orientalis Münchh ..

Cultivated forms

There are described in the following forms:

• Picea orientalis format aureospicata Beissn.
• Picea orientalis forma nana ( Carrière ) Rehder
• 'Aurea ' ( Gold Oriental spruce ): This form described in 1873 achieved growth heights of up to 10 meters and has golden yellow young branches, but usually turn green during the summer. This form is particularly May-June by the yellow needled branches. Specimens are rarely found in collections in gardens.