Biology:Picea smithiana
| Morinda spruce | |
|---|---|
| |
| Morinda spruce at Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Gymnospermae |
| Division: | Pinophyta |
| Class: | Pinopsida |
| Order: | Pinales |
| Family: | Pinaceae |
| Genus: | Picea |
| Species: | P. smithiana
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| Binomial name | |
| Picea smithiana (Wall.) Boiss.
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| Synonyms[2] | |
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Abies khutrow (Royle ex Turra) Loudon | |
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
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 England botanist and the founder of the Linnaean Society.[6]
References
- ↑ 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. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/42338/2973761. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Picea smithiana (Wall.) Boiss.". The Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. n.d.. https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:262724-1.
- ↑ (xls) BSBI List 2007, Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland, https://bsbi.org/download/3542/, retrieved 2014-10-17
- ↑ {{citation | mode = cs1 | title = Picea smithiana | work = Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) | url = | publisher = [[Organization:Agricultural Research ServAgricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) | access-date = 2018-08-09 }}
- ↑ Huxley, A., ed (1992). "The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening". The new Royal Horticultural Society dictionary of gardening.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Gledhill, David (2008). "The Names of Plants". Cambridge University Press. ISBN:9780521866453 (hardback), ISBN:9780521685535 (paperback). pp. 302,
External links
Wikidata ☰ Q1548216 entry
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