Picea sitchensis

Taxonomy and growth

Family

Pinaceae

Genus

Picea

Life cycle

perennial

Foliage

evergreen

Woodiness

woody

Growth rate

vigorous

Height

50 m

Spread

10 m

Fertility

Wind

Flower type

monoecious

Pollinators

Wind

Uses

Edible uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Young shoots - raw^[3][13]. Young male catkins - raw or cooked. Used as a flavouring^[7]. Immature female cones - cooked. The central portion, when roasted, is sweet and syrupy^[7]. The cones are 6 - 10cm long^[19]. Inner bark - raw or cooked^[13]. It can be dried, ground into a powder and then used as a thickener in soups etc or added to cereals when making bread^[7]. The inner bark was usually harvested in the spring, though it was also sometimes taken in the summer^[13]. An emergency food, it is only used when all else fails. Seed - raw^[7]. The seed is about 2 - 4mm long^[12]. It is rich in fats and has a pleasant slightly resinous flavour but is too small and fiddly to be worthwhile unless you are desperate[172, K]. A refreshing tea, rich in vitamin C, can be made from the young shoot tips^[7]. A gum obtained from the bark is hardened in cold water and then used for chewing^[3][8][13]. It should be aged for 3 days or more before using it. The best gum is obtained from the southern side of the tree.

Medicinal uses

Historical medicinal uses. These records describe reported uses. They do not establish safety or effectiveness. Ask a qualified health professional before using any plant medicinally.

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Sitka spruce was widely employed medicinally by several native North American Indian tribes who used it especially for its antiseptic and pectoral qualities in the treatment of lung complaints, wounds, sores etc^[14]. It is little, if at all, used in modern herbalism. The inner bark is laxative^[13][14]. It has been chewed in the treatment of throat problems, coughs and colds^[14]. A decoction of the branch tips and the bark has been used in the treatment of rheumatism, stomach pains, constipation and gonorrhoea^[14]. A decoction of the cones has been taken in the treatment of pain^[14]. The cones have also been used in steam baths to treat rheumatism^[14]. A decoction of the bark has been used as a steam bath in the treatment of back aches^[14]. The resin is antiseptic and diuretic^[14]. A decoction has been used in the treatment of gonorrhoea^[14]. A poultice of the resin has been used as a rub on rheumatic joints^[14]. Combined with Indian Hellebore roots (Veratrum viride), it has been used as a poultice on rheumatic joints^[14]. The resin has also been used as a dressing or poultice on cuts, broken skin, boils, wounds, infections and suppurating sores^[14]. The resin has been chewed as a breath freshener and as a treatment for TB^[14]. The gum from new shoots and small branches has been placed in the eyes as a treatment for snow blindness^[14]. A decoction of the roots has been used in the treatment of diarrhoea^[14].

Material uses

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

The tough and flexible root is used in basket making and as a string^[3][12]. The roots were burnt over an open fire to remove the bark, then they were dried and split to make hats, ropes etc^[14]. The main body material of baskets was made from the roots. These were cut into lengths 75 - 90cm long and 12 - 25mm in diameter. Whilst still full of sap and soft, these were split into broad flat bands and these in turn were sub-divided by knife and teeth until the desired size was obtained - a little larger than coarse thread, about like small twine. The vertical rods were made of hazel (Corylus spp) and the overlay was bear grass (Xerophyllum tenax)^[14]. The roots were used by several native North American Indian tribes to make tightly woven baskets that would hold water^[11]. The limbs and roots can be pounded, shredded and used to make ropes^[14]. A pitch is obtained from the tree and is used for caulking boats, waterproofing boxes etc^[3][14]. The rendered pitch has been used as a glue^[14]. The pitch can be melted then used as a protective varnish-like coat on wood^[14]. Wood - strong according to some reports^[6][12], not strong according to others^[1][2][15]. The quality of the wood for aircraft construction is unsurpassed, it is remarkably strong yet light and its resistance - weight ratio is among the highest^[11]. The wood is elastic, soft, light, straight grained. Equal in quality to P. abies but more quickly produced, the wood is used for shipbuilding, construction, packing cases, doors, posts etc^{[1][2][15][11]}. The wood is also valued for making musical instruments^[11] and is widely used in the pulp industry to make paper^[6]. The wood is a good fuel, knotted bits of wood would keep the fire burning all night^[14].

Ecology and functions

Ecosystem niche

Canopy

Environment

Range

Western N. America - Alaska to N. California.

Habitat

Moist, sandy, often swampy soils, occasionally on wet rocky slopes in the far north of its range^[19]. Alluvial soils from sea level to 300 metres, usually close to the coast^[3].

Light

full sun

Shade tolerance

no shade

Water

high

Hardiness

Zone 7+

Soil textures

sandy, loamy, clay

Soil pH

very acid, acid, neutral

Tolerances

high wind, maritime exposure

Wind

Yes

Maritime

Yes

Tolerates Nutritionally Poor Soil

No

Drought

intolerant

Propagation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Cultivation

This section contains historical Plants For A Future notes marked noncommercial.

Likes abundant moisture at the roots, if grown in drier areas it must be given a deep moist soil^[2]. Tolerates poor peaty soils^[10]. Succeeds in wet, cold, poor and shallow soils^[18]. Trees have succeeded on pure chalk when on a north facing hollow deep in beech woods^[10]. Prefers a pH between 4 to 6^[10]. Dislikes shade^[10]. Intolerant of atmospheric pollution^[2]. Very tolerant of exposure^[18], resisting salt laden gales^[7], though trees are not very wind firm in shallow soils^[1]. A long-lived tree, with specimens 700 - 800 years old being recorded^[12]. It is slow growing for its first two or three years, though it soon becomes an extremely fast growing tree and is very widely planted for timber in Britain and other temperate areas^[2][5]. Even trees 30 metres tall are increasing in height by 1 metre a year^[9]. New growth takes place from May to July or August and some very vigorous trees will produce a second flush of growth until September^[9]. Although the dormant tree is very cold-hardy, growth can be severely checked if the trees are growing in a frost hollow, because the young shoots are very susceptible to damage by late frosts^[4][9]. In Britain the best stands are produced in the sheltered valleys of W. Scotland. Trees are unsurpassed for rapid volume wood production in cool wet mountain sites on blanket peat in W. Britain^[10]. In areas with cool wet summers (1200mm of rain per year) it makes a huge specimen tree^[10]. Trees should be planted into their permanent positions when they are quite small, between 30 and 90cm^[1][10]. Larger trees will check badly and hardly put on any growth for several years. This also badly affects root development and wind resistance^[10]. In some upland areas, especially over granitic or other base-poor soils, growth rate and health have been seriously affected by aluminium poisoning induced by acid rain^[10]. Plants are strongly outbreeding, self-fertilized seed usually grows poorly^[10]. They hybridize freely with other members of this genus^[10]. Many trees do not bear female flowers in most years. Subject to damage by the green spruce aphid^[1], trees are also often attacked by a bark beetle and so should be kept away from more valuable plantings^[4]. A biological control for the bark beetle is being introduced (1990)^[4].

Related plants

• Picea abiesNorway Spruce
• Picea asperataChinese Spruce
• Picea brachytylaSargent Spruce
• Picea brewerianaWeeping Spruce

References

1. F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951-00-00

   ↩1↩2↩3↩4↩5

2. Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981-00-00

   ↩1↩2↩3↩4↩5

3. Gunther. E. Ethnobotany of Western Washington. University of Washington Press 1981-00-00 ISBN 0-295-95258-X

   ↩1↩2↩3↩4↩5

4. ? The Plantsman. Vol. 5. 1983 - 1984. Royal Horticultural Society 1983-00-00

   ↩1↩2↩3

5. Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962-00-00

   ↩

6. Hill. A. F. Economic Botany. The Maple Press 1952-00-00

   ↩1↩2

7. Schofield. J. J. Discovering Wild Plants - Alaska, W. Canada and the Northwest.

   ↩1↩2↩3↩4↩5↩6

8. Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books 1984-00-00 ISBN 3874292169

   ↩

9. Mitchell. A. F. Conifers in the British Isles. HMSO 1975-00-00 ISBN 0-11-710012-9

   ↩1↩2↩3

10. Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992-00-00 ISBN 0-333-47494-5

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4↩5↩6↩7↩8↩9↩10↩11

11. Lauriault. J. Identification Guide to the Trees of Canada Fitzhenry and Whiteside, Ontario. 1989-00-00 ISBN 0889025649

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4

12. Elias. T. The Complete Trees of N. America. Field Guide and Natural History. Van Nostrand Reinhold Co. 1980-00-00 ISBN 0442238622

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4

13. Turner. N. J. Food Plants of Coastal First Peoples UBC Press. Vancouver. 1995-00-00 ISBN 0-7748-0533-1

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4↩5

14. Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998-00-00 ISBN 0-88192-453-9

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4↩5↩6↩7↩8↩9↩10↩11↩12↩13↩14↩15↩16↩17↩18↩19↩20↩21↩22

15. Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim 1959-00-00

    ↩1↩2

16. Sheat. W. G. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. MacMillan and Co 1948-00-00

    ↩1↩2↩3↩4

17. McMillan-Browse. P. Hardy Woody Plants from Seed. Grower Books 1985-00-00 ISBN 0-901361-21-6

    ↩1↩2

18. Rushforth. K. Conifers. Christopher Helm 1987-00-00 ISBN 0-7470-2801-X

    ↩1↩2

19. Sargent. C. S. Manual of the Trees of N. America. Dover Publications Inc. New York. 1965-00-00 ISBN 0-486-20278-X

    ↩1↩2