General: Engelmann Spruce (Picea engelmannii) is a tall (to 200 ft), sharply conical, coniferous (cone-bearing) tree. Smaller twigs have persistent, peg-like "leaf" petioles, fresh twigs and leaf bases are hairy. The needles are squarish, radiate out from the twigs, are stiff, and have a pointed tip (but not painfully sharp). The seed cones are 1-1/2 to 3 inches long, papery, cylindrical, and tend to hang down from the branches. Individual cone scales are diamond-shaped or oval, but do not extend far (only 3-8 mm) beyond seed impression.

Engelmann Spruce does not occur naturally in southern Nevada. Instead, look for this species in Great Basin National Park where Engelmann Spruce is a common component of the montane vegetation in the Canadian (Pine-Fir Forest) life zone.

Family: Pine (Pinaceae).

Other Names: white spruce, mountain spruce, silver spruce.

Plant Form: Tall conifer, sharply conical with pointed crown.

Height: Usually 80-130 ft, to 213 feet.

Trunk: To 5-ft diameter.

Bark: Gray to reddish brown, thin and scaly.

Branches: Branches slightly drooping. Twigs stout, yellow-brown, may be covered in fine hairs (pubescent).

Needles: 0.6 to 1.2 in long, square in cross section, rigid, tip pointed (but not sharp). Blue-green above, but blue-white below with two broad bands of stomata.

Cones: Light-green to purple, then aging to tan, 1-1/2 to 3 inches long. Cone scales diamond-shaped or oval, and the outer edge is fairly smooth (not irregularly notched or toothed). The apex of the cone scale extends only 3-8 mm beyond the seed impression. Cones are deciduous after seed maturity.

Seeds: Black, 1/10 inches long with a slender wing.

Habitat: Middle- and higher-elevation mountain slopes and valleys up to treeline.

Elevation: 3,500 to 10,000 feet.

Distribution: All of the western States from southern Canada to New Mexico. A subspecies of Engelmann Spruce, Mexican Spruce (P. e. mexicana), occurs in high mountains of central Mexico.

Comments: Dive into the difference between Engelmann Spruce and Blue Spruce here.