Scientific Name: Picea Abies
Common Name: Norway Spruce Angiosperm or Gymnosperm: Gymnosperm Natural Habitat: Eastern Canada, Northeastern United States, European Alps and Scandinavia. Leaf Pattern: Stiff evergreen needles, 1/2-1 inch long, sharp point and a deep green color. Germination Process: First reproduces at 30-40 years of age, then every 3-15 years depending on the location. Usually the bigger branches produce the bigger seeds which fall no further away than the height of the tree. However, movement of the seed can be considerable when dropped on flat snow and blown away. Norway Spruce seeds germinate immediately and do not require any treatment. Animals and Plants in Area: In Quebec, the Norway Spruce is a favorite browse for the Snowshoe Hare because they can provide a habitat. Red Deer in Europe strip the bark from the tree. Most wildlife use the Norway Spruce for a habitat instead of food because it isn't very nutritious. Bark: Red-brown, scaly and turns gray with flakey scales. Ethnobotany (Human Use): The Norway Spruce has been used in many different ways. It's most well-known use is the common Christmas tree. It has also been smoked and burned as incense. Some of it's more natural uses are for windbreaks and reforestation. Every year for Christmas, a huge tree is decorated in the Rockefeller Center in New York. The tree most often selected for this iconic Christmas tree is the Norway Spruce. Most Christmas tree farms sell Norway Spruce because of how fast the grow and how full they get with needles. The only down side to the Norway Spruce as Christmas trees is that the needles start to fall off two to three weeks after they are cut down. Norway Pines have been used in Christmas traditions for centuries but not always in the same ways. Nordic traditions say that the Norway Pine was burned as incense during Christmas. Siberian shamans also burned the Norway Pine, however, not as incense but rather to smoke it. Norway Pines are used on the east coast a lot as windbreaks. They are very sturdy trees that can tolerate strong winds and still grow at a fast rate. The are also used when a forest burns down because they are an excellent timber tree and their remarkable growth rate. Summarize Research: Studies have recently been conducted on the different uses of the Norway Spruce in construction materials like particle board (PB) and medium-density fiberboard (MDF). According to bioresources.com there have been traces of formaldehyde found in houses where PB and MDF is used and made out of fibers from the Norway Spruce. Formaldehyde is considered a dangerous substance. Because of it's toxicity and horrible odor it is banned in building in many countries (Salem et al. pg. 1200). Other research on the Norway Spruce has been dedicated to understanding how entire Norway Spruce forests periodically get attacked. According to the authors of Plant Physiology Bark Beetles Ips Typographus and their fungi partner-in-crime Ceratocystis Polonica are responsible for these attacks. They discovered that the Norway Spruce uses a production of terpenoid resins to defend itself against the Bark Beetle, but it has a harder time fighting the fungi. They found some milder defenses for the fungi that attacks, but once the tree gets infected, the defense mechanism shuts down (Hammerbacher et al. pg. 1326). A group of scientists have conducted research to see how different trees might change the elemental compound of soil. According to the article Soil Properties Under Norway Spruce Differ in Spruce Dominated and Mixed Broadleaf Forests, higher soil acidification has been found in strictly spruce forests compared to spruce and deciduous forests. The explanation for this is most likely because the Norway Spruces have a high interception of pollutants on the air which then downfall through the tree and into the soil (Bonificio et al. pg. 149). |
Norway Spruce, #5
Leaves of Norway Spruce
Bark of Norway Spruce
Trunk of Norway Spruce
Surroundings of Norway Spruce
Group of pods on Norway Spruce
Pod on Norway Spruce
Tag sign on Norway Spruce
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Creative Essay:
The day has finally come! It is 9:00 A.M. on a Saturday, three weeks before Christmas and it is time once again to embark on our family tradition of cutting down our Christmas tree. As we get in the car to head to the tree farm, I start day dreaming of our perfect tree. It can't just be any ordinary Christmas tree either. It has to have stiff evergreen needles with that deep green color. The bark has to have that dark red-brown color with flaky pieces. As we get to the farm I see the sign with the different tree options and immediately spot of tree-the Norway Spruce. For years and years the Norway Spruce as been a Christmas tree favorite. Originating in Scandinavia where it was burned as incense during Christmas time, the Norway Spruce has been on the world stage in Rockefeller Center in New York, one of the most beautiful Christmas trees I have ever seen. Now it is finally that time of year to bring this part of history into our house. As we are walking into the forest of Norway Spruces, our guide is telling us all about it's other uses like reforestation and wind breaks on the east coast and in Europe. Finally we spot it. The tree I have been thinking about for a whole year. I knew we would have to fight over it with some local wildlife because it already had some habitat growth around it. But we decided not to give in, and make it ours. Besides, the fresh, crisp smell was calling our name. We had found our tree and began cutting it down to take it with us. As we finished cutting it down, we planted some seeds for a new one. As the last part of this family tradition, we give back what we take in hopes that it will be ready for us the next year. After all, the Norway Spruce is one of the fastest growing trees out there.
References:
Bohlmann, J., Brand, W.A., Fenning, T.M., Gershenzon, J., Hammerbacher, A., Paetz, C., Schmidt, A., Schneider, B., Wadke, N., Wright, L. (2013). A common fungal associate of the Spruce Bark Beetle metabolizes the stilbene defenses of Norway Spruce. Plant Physiology, 162,3.
Bohm, M., Salem, M.Z.M., Srba, J., Zeidler, A. (2013). Norway Spruce as a bioresource: evaluation of solid wood, particle board and MDF technological properties and formaldehyde emission. BioResources, 8, 1.
Bonifacio, E., Caimi, A., Falsone, G., Goldbold, D., Trofimov, S.Y., Zanini, E. (2008). Soil properties under Norway Spruce differ in spruce dominated and mixed broadleaf forests of the Southern Taiga. Plant & Soil, 308, 1/2.
Norway Spruce. (n.d.) Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation. Retrieved October 11, 2013, from http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=99
Norwayspruce.com- World Wide resources for Norway Spruce. (n.d.) NorwaySpruce.com- World Wide resources for Norway Spruce. Retrieved October 11, 2013, from http://www.norwayspruce.com/#uses
Picea Abies. (n.d.) US Forest Service- Caring for the land and serving people.. Retrieved October 11, 2013, from http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/t
The day has finally come! It is 9:00 A.M. on a Saturday, three weeks before Christmas and it is time once again to embark on our family tradition of cutting down our Christmas tree. As we get in the car to head to the tree farm, I start day dreaming of our perfect tree. It can't just be any ordinary Christmas tree either. It has to have stiff evergreen needles with that deep green color. The bark has to have that dark red-brown color with flaky pieces. As we get to the farm I see the sign with the different tree options and immediately spot of tree-the Norway Spruce. For years and years the Norway Spruce as been a Christmas tree favorite. Originating in Scandinavia where it was burned as incense during Christmas time, the Norway Spruce has been on the world stage in Rockefeller Center in New York, one of the most beautiful Christmas trees I have ever seen. Now it is finally that time of year to bring this part of history into our house. As we are walking into the forest of Norway Spruces, our guide is telling us all about it's other uses like reforestation and wind breaks on the east coast and in Europe. Finally we spot it. The tree I have been thinking about for a whole year. I knew we would have to fight over it with some local wildlife because it already had some habitat growth around it. But we decided not to give in, and make it ours. Besides, the fresh, crisp smell was calling our name. We had found our tree and began cutting it down to take it with us. As we finished cutting it down, we planted some seeds for a new one. As the last part of this family tradition, we give back what we take in hopes that it will be ready for us the next year. After all, the Norway Spruce is one of the fastest growing trees out there.
References:
Bohlmann, J., Brand, W.A., Fenning, T.M., Gershenzon, J., Hammerbacher, A., Paetz, C., Schmidt, A., Schneider, B., Wadke, N., Wright, L. (2013). A common fungal associate of the Spruce Bark Beetle metabolizes the stilbene defenses of Norway Spruce. Plant Physiology, 162,3.
Bohm, M., Salem, M.Z.M., Srba, J., Zeidler, A. (2013). Norway Spruce as a bioresource: evaluation of solid wood, particle board and MDF technological properties and formaldehyde emission. BioResources, 8, 1.
Bonifacio, E., Caimi, A., Falsone, G., Goldbold, D., Trofimov, S.Y., Zanini, E. (2008). Soil properties under Norway Spruce differ in spruce dominated and mixed broadleaf forests of the Southern Taiga. Plant & Soil, 308, 1/2.
Norway Spruce. (n.d.) Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation. Retrieved October 11, 2013, from http://dendro.cnre.vt.edu/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=99
Norwayspruce.com- World Wide resources for Norway Spruce. (n.d.) NorwaySpruce.com- World Wide resources for Norway Spruce. Retrieved October 11, 2013, from http://www.norwayspruce.com/#uses
Picea Abies. (n.d.) US Forest Service- Caring for the land and serving people.. Retrieved October 11, 2013, from http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/t