Kingdom Plantae Order Pinales Genus Picea Higher classification Spruce | Division Pinophyta Family Pinaceae Scientific name Picea asperata Rank Species | |
 | ||
Similar Pinaceae, Pinus tabuliformis, Spruce, Larix gmelinii, Chinese fir | ||
Picea asperata (dragon spruce; Chinese: yun shan) is a spruce native to western China, from eastern Qinghai, southern Gansu and southwestern Shaanxi south to western Sichuan.
Contents
Description
It is a medium-sized evergreen tree growing to 25-40 m tall, and with a trunk diameter of up to 1.5 m. The shoots are orange-brown, with scattered pubescence. The leaves are needle-like, 1-2.5 cm long, rhombic in cross-section, greyish-green to bluish-green with conspicuous stomatal lines. The cones are cylindric-conic, 6-15 cm long and 2-3 cm broad, maturing pale brown 5-7 months after pollination, and have stiff, rounded to bluntly pointed scales.
Varieties
It is a variable species with several varieties listed. These were first described as distinct species (and are still so treated by some authors), although they differ only in minor details, and some may not prove to be distinct at all if a larger population is examined:
Conservation
The species is currently not listed as threatened, but recently population numbers have been declining due to deforestation caused by the Chinese logging industry.
Uses
P. asperata is occasionally grown as an ornamental tree in Europe and North America.