Why is Sitka spruce so special?
Sitka spruce is valued for its wood, which is light, soft, and relatively strong and flexible. It is used for general construction, ship building and plywood. The wood has excellent acoustic properties and is used to make sounding boards in pianos and other musical instruments such as violins and guitars.
How did Sitka spruce get its name?
History. The Sitka Spruce gets its name from an Alaskan island called Baranof Island, because it was once called Sitka Island. Alaska is the largest state in the United States, and the Sitka is the largest spruce in the world; fittingly, it is the state tree of Alaska. The wood is very light and very strong.
What type of tree is a Sitka spruce?
Sitka spruce belongs to the genus Picea and is a member of the pine family (Pinaceae). Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) is a conifer tree growing to over 60m and flowering in May.
How old is a Sitka spruce?
Age. Sitka spruce is a long-lived tree, with individuals over 700 years old known. Because it grows rapidly under favorable conditions, large size may not indicate exceptional age. The Queets Spruce has been estimated to be only 350 to 450 years old, but adds more than a cubic meter of wood each year.
Is spruce in the pine family?
Spruce belongs to the genus of coniferous evergreen trees of the pine family. There are about 40 species. It is one of the main forest-forming species.
What animal eats the Sitka spruce?
The Sitka Spruce is the state tree of Alaska and it gets its name from an island there, formerly known as Sitka Island. It is enjoyed by wildlife such as deer, porcupines, elk, bear, and rabbits who will eat the twigs, and seeds.
What does the name Sitka mean?
(Sitka Pronunciations) Sitka is for the Alaskan city and means ‘people on the outside of Shee’ (Shee being the Tlingit name for Baranof Island).
Why is Sitka spruce bad?
Sitka spruce plantations, hectare upon hectare of them, now cover what was once nature-rich farmland. Dense blocks of these non-native coniferous trees smother the landscape, driving out wonderful and endangered wildlife such as hen harriers and curlews, birds that could be extinct in Ireland within the decade.
What animal eats the Sitka Spruce?
How tall is the tallest Sitka Spruce?
315 feet
The “Carmanah Giant” on Vancouver Island is the tallest living Sitka Spruce at 315 feet; the largest, in terms of volume, is a tree growing along Washington’s Queets River—a mile or so downstream from the “Queets Fir”—that boasts almost 12,000 cubic feet of wood to its 248-foot-frame.
What does it mean when trees are loaded with pine cones?
But more pine cones can also mean the trees are producing more reproductive seeds as a way to deal with the stress of a dry or changing climate. It’s a matter of survival: The tougher, drier the season, the stronger the urge for the trees to reproduce through seeds so the species can survive.
Is spruce edible?
All spruce trees produce edible tips as long as they haven’t been sprayed with something humans shouldn’t eat, such as insecticide . That will keep the tree from growing in lopsided. Young spruce tips have a citrus-like flavor that complements both sweet and savory dishes.
What kind of tree is the Sitka spruce?
Sitka Spruce trees are one of the tallest species of trees, right up there with Redwoods and Giant Sequoias. Sometimes, they get to be very old, and outrageously tall. 2. Sitka Spruce wood has many purposes aside from tonewood. Sailors often used Sitka Spruce wood for masts on their ships, and crates for their cargo.
Is the density of Sitka spruce a good predictor of strength?
In Sitka spruce, the correlation between density and strength (or stiffness) of structural size timber is not very strong (partly due to it having a relatively dense juvenile core wood compared to other conifers) – and so density alone is not a good predictor of strength.
How old does a Sitka spruce have to be to produce cones?
Reproduction and Early Growth Flowering and Fruiting- Individual Sitka spruce may occasionally produce cones before 20 years of age, but cone bearing in stands usually does not begin until ages 20 to 40 (24).
What kind of trees grow in Southeast Alaska?
Shore pine (P. contorta var. contorta) and western redcedar (Thuja plicata) are also associates that extend into southeast Alaska.