Picea abies
Norway spruce
How do you recognise Norway spruce?
The needles are 1.5–2.5 cm long and grow singly all around the twig. The cones are 10–15 cm long and hang from the branch tips. A cone is first purplish red, then green, and brown by autumn.
What is it confused with?
Pine needles are longer, 3–7 cm, and grow in pairs on spur shoots. Pine cones are short and conical.
Where does Norway spruce grow, and when does it flower?
Spruce takes over moist, shaded ground and forms dense, dark forest. It reached Finland about 5,000 years ago and gradually displaced other trees.
Can you collect it for a herbarium?
Norway spruce is very common, and a short twig tip with needles is enough.
Did you know?
The darkness of a spruce forest is the tree’s own doing: the dense crown lets through so little light that almost nothing grows beneath. The cone changes colour through the summer, from purplish red to green to brown.
Where does Norway spruce grow in Finland?
The map shows where the species has been recorded. Darker squares mean more observations.
Loading the map
Observations: GBIF · Map: CARTO, OpenStreetMap
Sources: fi.wikipedia.org
Identify plants with your phone
Linnea identifies a plant from a photo and tells you its name and its story. Every find takes its own numbered place in your herbarium, with the day and the town where you found it.
