Engelmann's Spruce

Description:

Picea engelmannii Parry ex Engelm. var. engelmannii. Also commonly referred to as Engelmann Spruce. Note the lower branches where cones have fallen. The close shot at www.flickr.com/photos/tonyfrates/6513452137/ was from one of those lower long spreading branches.Trees can be 50 meters or taller. Bark is red to purple-brown compared to the light to dark gray of Blue Spruce, Picea pungens. The form of the tree above is closer to Blue Spruce than typical Engelmann's Spruce.September 5, 2011, Wasatch Plateau, Huntington Canyon, Emery County, Utah, approx. 7,185 ft. elev. Most commonly found at 8,000 ft but often occurs between 6,500 and 8,000 ft. in Utah; the lower elevation coupled with the additional growing room around it may account for the fullness of this tree than is necessarily typical. Blue Spruce grows with it and in the same general elevational range but supposedly the two species do not hybridize.