Sitka Spruce Seeds 25 Count

Sitka Spruce Seeds 25 Count Pinaceae Picea sitchensis West Coast Spruce, Western Spruce, Yellow Spruce, Sequoia Silver Spruce, Silver Spruce, Sitka Spar, Sitka Spruce, Sitka-Fichte, Sitkafichte, Sitka-Gran, Sitka-Gran, Sitkankuusi, Sitka-Spar, Spruces D'america, Tideland Spruce Description: Native to the Northwest, the Sitka Spruce is the largest of the spruce family and a fast grower. Its needles are very sharp and stiff, and its branches are long, growing from well down on the trunk, with an upward sweep at the end. The largest known Sitka Spruce in the lower 48 is found near Seaside, Oregon. Native Americans used this spruce to make baskets, rainhats, rope, tea, and chewing gum. Leaf: Single, linear, spirally arranged; 1 inch long with a very sharp tip, needles point perpendicular and forward on the twig; yellow-green above with white bloom below. Each needle borne on a raised, woody peg (sterigma). Flower: Monoecious; male cones erect or pendent; female cones green to purple and borne near the top of the tree. Fruit: Oblong cones, 1 1/2 to 3 1/2 inches long with thin, woody, spirally arranged scales that have very thin, notched edges and are tan when mature. Cones ripen in one growing season and occur near the top of the tree. Twig: Current year's twigs are moderately stout and yellow-brown to orange-brown. All twigs are covered with numerous distinct woody pegs (sterigmata). Bark: On young trees, bark is thin and scaly, usually gray. On mature trees it's usually less than 1 inch thick; gray to brown and scaly. Form: Sitka spruce is the largest of all spruces. It commonly is 125 to 180 feet tall and 3 to 5 feet in diameter, but can be much larger. Crown is open with somewhat pendulous branches; branches commonly reach the ground and dead branches are retained for a long time. Base of trees are commonly swollen and buttressed. Discussion: The world's largest spruce. In old growth stands, trees may commonly reach a height of 70 m and diameter of 300 cm. The very largest known specimen (see photo) grows near road's end in the Queets River valley of Olympic National Park. Bob Van Pelt relates that Bob Wood first told me about this tree during the late 1980's when I began measuring western trees. He indicated that it had a huge, 15 foot thick trunk, and that it was taller than the tree at Quinault Lake. He also mentioned that a recent study on the growth of this tree indicated that the growth rings are still relatively large, so much so that the tree adds a foot to its diameter every 35 years or so. The implications of this, since the tree has approximately 5,300 ft2 of living cambium, that close to 46 ft3 per year are produced by this tree, making it one of the fastest growing trees on the planet!"" The sharp needles of spruce were believed to give it special powers for protection against evil thoughts. Some tribes used the boughs in winter dance ceremonies to protect the dancers and to 'scare' spectators. Among other First Peoples the inner bark (cambium) was eaten fresh or dried into cakes and eaten with berries. Some were said to eat the young shoots raw; these would have been an excellent source of vitamin C. The inner bark was eaten fresh as a laxative by others. The pitch was often chewed for pleasure and was also used as medicine for burns, boils, slivers and other skin irritations. Sitka spruce pitch was also used as a medicine for colds, sore throats, internal swellings, rheumatism and toothaches. The roots of Sitka spruce were used to make beautifully twined water-tight hats and baskets. The roots were carefully pulled out from sandy ground in the early summer, briefly 'cooked' in the fire to prevent them from turning brown, then peeled, split and bundled for later use. ""