black spruce Pinaceae Picea mariana

Leaf:Evergreen, four-sided needles, stiff, 1/4 to 1/2 inch long, light blue-green in color, somewhat blunt pointed tips, light blue-green to gray.
Flower:Species is monoecious; males red, turning yellow to light brown; females purple, upright, and in the upper crowns.
Fruit:Ovoid cones are the smallest of the spruces, 1 inch long, scale margins are rounded and finely erose; maturing in late summer with seeds disseminating in early fall.
Twig:Slender, brown and pubescent; needles are borne on woody pegs; buds are small, gray-brown with loose scales.
Bark:Thin, gray-brown or red-brown in color, broken into irregular, close scales.
Form:Small to medium sized trees up to 70 feet tall with a very narrow conical or spire-like crown and a poorly pruned trunk.

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