Colorado State Tree – Colorado Blue Spruce – Picea pugens
Colorado Blue Spruce Pinaceae Picea pungens
Leaf: Evergreen, stiff, 3/4 to 1 1/4 inch long, yellow-green to bluish or white.
Needles are very sharp, and have an acidic taste.
Leaf: Evergreen, stiff, 3/4 to 1 1/4 inch long, yellow-green to bluish or white.
Needles are very sharp, and have an acidic taste.
Flower: Monoecious; males yellow-brown to purple, scattered throughout trees;
females purple, upright, in tops of the trees.
Fruit: Cones are 2 to 4 inches long, cylindrical, light brown in color. Cone
scales are pointed with jagged-erose margins. Maturing in autumn.
Twig: Stout (when compared to other spruces), hairless, orange-brown. Needles
are borne on woody pegs. Bud scales are noticeably reflexed.
Bark: Gray to red-brown, young trees with small, thin scales – older trees
developing furrows.
Form: A medium to large tree with pyramidal form. Branches appear layered,
especially with age.
Copyright 2019 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental
Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen,
Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson;Silvics reprinted from Ag
Handbook 654; range map source information
Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen,
Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson;Silvics reprinted from Ag
Handbook 654; range map source information