Morinda spruce
Morinda spruce at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Gymnospermae
Division: Pinophyta
Class: Pinopsida
Order: Pinales
Family: Pinaceae
Genus: Picea
Species:
P. smithiana
Binomial name
Picea smithiana
Synonyms[2]

Abies khutrow (Royle ex Turra) Loudon
Abies smithiana (Wall.) Lindl.
Picea khutrow (Royle ex Turra) Carrière
Picea morinda Link
Picea smithiana var. nepalensis Franco
Picea smithiana subsp. nepalensis (Franco) Silba
Pinus morinda Gordon & Glend.
Pinus pendula Griff.
Pinus smithiana Wall.

Picea smithiana is a species of evergreen tree in the family Pinaceae family[2] It is referred to by the common names morinda spruce[3][4][5] and West Himalayan spruce, and is a spruce native to the western Himalaya and adjacent mountains, from northeast Afghanistan, northern Pakistan, India to central Nepal. It grows at altitudes of 2,400-3,600 m in forests together with deodar cedar, blue pine and pindrow fir.

Description

New growth, showing the exceptionally long needles of this species

Picea smithiana is a large evergreen tree growing to 40–55 m tall (exceptionally to 60 m), and with a trunk diameter of up to 1–2 m. It has a conical crown with level branches and usually pendulous branchlets.

The shoots are pale buff-brown, and glabrous (hairless). The leaves are needle-like, the longest of any spruce, 3–5 cm long, rhombic in cross-section, mid-green with inconspicuous stomatal lines. The cones are broad cylindric-conic, 9–16 cm long and 3 cm broad, green when young, maturing buff-brown and opening to 5–6 cm broad 5–7 months after pollination; the scales are stiff and smoothly rounded.

Morinda spruce is a popular ornamental tree in large gardens in western Europe for its attractive pendulous branchlets. It is also grown to a small extent in forestry for timber and paper production, though its slower growth compared to Norway spruce reduces its importance outside of its native range. The name morinda derives from the tree's name in Nepali.

Etymology

Picea means 'pitch', and is derived from the ancient Latin word of the same meaning, pix. The name is in reference to the sticky sap produced by members of this genus.[6]

Smithiana is named for James Edward Smith, an English botanist and the founder of the Linnaean Society.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Farjon, A.; Rushforth, K. (2013). "Picea smithiana". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2013: e.T42338A2973761. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T42338A2973761.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Picea smithiana (Wall.) Boiss". Plants of the World Online. The Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. n.d. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  3. ↑ BSBI List 2007 (xls). Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland. Archived from the original (xls) on 26 June 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  4. ↑ "Picea smithiana". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  5. ↑ Huxley, A., ed. (1992). The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening.
  6. 1 2 Gledhill, David (2008). "The Names of Plants". Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521866453 (hardback), ISBN 9780521685535 (paperback). pp. 302,
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