Serbian Spruce               PI-see-a o-mor-E-ka

• Conifer, evergreen tree, to 60ft (18 m) tall, with a spread of 20-25 ft (6.7.6 m), very slender trunk, forms a narrow, pyramidal head.  Bark coffee color, with thin scales.  Needles short, 13-25 mm long, flat (most spruce needles are 4-sided), keeled on both sides, dark green without stomata above, glaucous white with 4-6 distinct, stomatic bands on either side of the midrib below.  Cones oblong-ovoid 3-4.5 cm long, 1.3-2 cm in diameter, glossy cinnamon brown when ripe.
• Sun. Best in a deep rich soil, moist and well-drained.  Appears to tolerate city conditions.
• Hardy to USDA Zone 4      Native to the southeastern Europe (southwestern Serbia), with a few stands in the limestone mountains on either side of the upper Drina River.
• omorika: the Balkan vernacular name for spruce (Jacobson, 1996).