Picea omorika

Serbian spruce (Picea omorika )

The Serbian spruce (Picea omorika ), also Omorika spruce (after the Serbian Trivial names for the type omorika / оморика ), a flowering plant in the family (Pinaceae ). It occurs only in a small area north of Visegrad. It was first described in 1876 by the Serbian doctor, botanist and first president of the Serbian Academy of Arts and Sciences Josif Pančić and in Serbia in his honor " Pančić spruce " ( Pančićeva omorika ) called.

• 5.1 Development History

• 6.1 Notes and references

Description

Habit

The Serbian spruce reaches stature heights of 30 to 40 meters, the tallest specimen measured 53 m. The diameter at breast height reached a maximum of 72 centimeters. The maximum age is 160 to 200 years. It forms a rather narrow - keglige to narrow cylindrical crown, which can often be promoted also by the pagoda- like symmetrical beastete crown. Young trees have a rather broad crown. The branches are short, contiguous and have an upward peak. The stem is thin and straight.

Buds and needles

The winter buds are round to pointed oval, reddish brown, and 3.5 to 5 millimeters long. Do not gum up. The terminal bud is often covered by needles. The outer bud scales are lanceolate and acuminate, the inner are short, ovate and blunt. The flower buds are larger. The needles are flattened and dorsiventral bifacial. The width is more than five times the height. The stomata are restricted to the morphological top. The side branches but the top is rotated by the needle base to bottom. The actual bottom is therefore determined by the gap opening strip silvery gray, the actual top dark green. The needles are dense, have a distinct midrib. The length is 12 to 20 mm, width 1.5 to 2 millimeters. They remain on the branches up to 12 years.

Flowers, cones and seeds

The first flowering occurs between the ages of 15 to 20 years, the highest seed production occurs at about 40 years. Bloom time is from May to June. Male and female flowers are located on a tree ( monoecious ) in the upper crown area. The female cones are red, 1.5 to 2.5 inches long and stand upright, side - to -side terminal shoots. The male flowers are reddish yellow and round an inch long and are pendant to the last year's shoots. The pollen grains are 64.5 microns long, 77.2 microns wide and 55.7 microns high, they carry two air bags.

The fertilization occurs often by self-fertilization. From flowering to seed maturity goes a growing season. The mature cones are 4.5 to 6 inches long and 2.5 to 3 cm wide, glossy brown to reddish brown. Your outline is ovate. They hang out and have some a short stalk. The seed scales are round, 11 millimeters long, 13 millimeters wide and serrated wavy edge. The bracts are very small, not visible from the outside, its edge is serrated. A pin consists of 80 to 110 scales.

In the immature state, the cones are green, and violet run. The seed maturation takes place in October / November of the first year, the pins remain after that up to a year on the tree. The seeds are usually not released until starting in the spring after seed maturity. Every three to four years enters a mast year, are formed in the per tree up to 3 kg cones.

The seeds are two to three millimeters long and have an approximately 8 mm long wings.

The seedling has five to six cotyledons having lengths from 10 to 12 millimeters.

Bark

The bark is gray-brown and rather thin and dissolves in older trees in plump scales 6-17 centimeters in diameter. It is often covered by the resin drops in cortical parenchyma there are many channels, with resin a diameter of 1 to 4 millimeters. Young shoots have a dense, short pubescence. They carry a variety of pin cushion, her light brown bark is furrowed.

Wood

The wood is similar to that of the Commons Spruce ( Picea abies). Heartwood and sapwood are the same color. The late wood is slightly darker than the early wood. The wood fibers are single row and there are many resin canals. The bulk density (R12) is 0.5 to 0.52 g/cm-3. The wood consists of 50 % cellulose, 11 % pentoses and 25% lignin.

Distribution and location

The natural area of the Serbian Spruce is a small area on the border between Serbia and Bosnia - Herzegovina to the north of the city of Visegrad in the Tara mountains either side of the Drina. The expansion is in NW-SE about 40 kilometers, in SW-NE around 25 kilometers. There are about 50 individual stocks 3-3000 trees, the entire inventory area is approximately 60 acres.

The spruce trees grow at altitudes from 800 to 1400 meters, mostly in mixed stands with Pinus nigra, Pinus sylvestris, Picea abies, Fagus sylvatica, Quercus cerris sometimes, Carpinus betulus, Populus tremula and Acer campestre. The locations are steep, north to north-west facing slopes. The substrate is predominantly limestone weathered soils with moderate nutrient and high humus content ( less developed Rendzinen ). The pH of the soil is neutral. The natural stocks are in sommerkühlem climate with rather high humidity. Winters are cold and snowy. The rainfall at altitudes up to 1000 m, where most stocks falter, amount to approximately 1000 mm, evenly distributed throughout the year. The average annual temperature is 4-6 ° C. Against late frosts it is insensitive.

The stocks have been decimated by forest fires and use, the nature has long been in decline.

Diseases and Pests

The Serbian spruce was long considered insensitive to airborne contaminants. However, it is susceptible to sulfur dioxide and hydrogen fluoride. The species is sensitive to late frosts due to a late bud break time. Snow breaks will mainly caused by wet snow. Especially in areas where the species has been planted enters the so-called " Omorika - dying " on that is triggered by an accumulation of chloride ions in the root zone. Biotic diseases produce no serious threat to the Serbian spruce dar. red rot is caused by the fungus Heterobasidion annosum. The common Armillaria ( Armillaria mellea ) is often infects the Serbian spruce. The infestation can be so strong that the host tree dies. The book (Ips typographus ), the striped ambrosia ( Trypodendron lineatum ) and the engraver ( Pityogenes chalcographus ) are among the most common bark beetles that attack the Serbian spruce. As leaf pest occurs on the Sitkafichtenlaus ( Liosomaphis abietina ). The Serbian spruce seems resistant to the little spruce sawfly ( Pristiphora abietina ) to be.

Use

The Serbian spruce is widely planted as a garden and park tree where their schmalkronige, close the nobility and beastete to floor growth form is estimated in Central Europe. Due to its insensitivity to fumes, it is suitable in a particular way for plantations in industrial areas and urbanized areas. In the U.S. it is used as a Christmas tree. As a forest tree it has no meaning because it is inferior in vigor of Picea abies.

System

Within the genus spruce (Picea ), the Serbian spruce is placed in the section Omorikae. As their closest relatives are the Sikkim Spruce ( Picea spinulosa ) and the Brewer Spruce (Picea breweriana ). A molecular genetic study of the genus could not clarify the exact relationships of Picea omorika in detail.

History of development

In the Tertiary and in the last interglacial period, the ancestors of the Serbian spruce were represented in large areas of Europe. The last ice age, it survived in refugia on the Drina. After the end of the Ice Age, they could not spread, although it has a high seed production and is essentially a pioneer plant. The main reason above all, their lower competitive ability compared with Picea abies, Fagus sylvatica and Abies alba is assumed.

Documents

• Peter Schütt: Picea omorika. In: Bulk, Weisgerber, Schuck, Long, vocal, Roloff: Encyclopedia of conifers. Nikol, Hamburg 2004, pp. 297-305. ISBN 3-933203-80-5
• Threatend Conifers of the World International Resource Programs, Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh - Picea omorika Panc. Purkyne - on the website of Threatend Conifers of the World Programme of RBG Edinburgh