Meyer's Spruce

The timber is used for construction, poles, bridge building, furniture, and wood pulp. The species is also cultivated for afforestation and as an ornamental.

Trees to 30 m tall; trunk to 60 cm d.b.h.; bark gray-brown, irregularly flaking; crown conical; branchlets yellow-brown, pubescent or glabrous; winter buds brown, conical or ovoid-conical, slightly resinous, scales recurved. Leaves spreading radially, ascending on upper side of branchlets, spreading and curved upward on lower side, quadrangular-linear, slightly curved, 1.3-3 cm × ca. 2 mm, stomatal lines present on all surfaces, apex obtuse or subacute. Seed cones green, maturing brown-yellow, oblong-cylindric, 6-9 × 2.5-3.5 cm. Seed scales obovate, ca. 1.6 × 1.2 cm, striate on exposed part abaxially, base broadly cuneate or nearly orbicular, apex rounded or triangular-obtuse. Seeds obovoid, ca. 3.5 mm; wing pale brown, oblanceolate, ca. 1 cm. Pollination Apr, seed maturity Sep-Oct.

?S Gansu, Hebei, Nei Mongol, Shaanxi, Shanxi

* Mountains; 1600-2700 m.

Picea meyeri var. mongolica H. Q. Wu; P. meyeri f. pyramidalis (H. W. Jen & C. G. Bai) L. K. Fu & Nan Li; P. meyeri var. pyramidalis H. W. Gen & C. G. Bai; P. mongolica (H. Q. Wu) W. D. Xu.