Wilson's Spruce               PI-see-a wil-SON-ee-i (wil-SON-ee-ee)

• Conifer, evergreen tree, slow growing, to about 80 ft (~25m) tall, conical crown, dense, short, horizontally spreading branches; bark gray, irregularly flaking.  Needles (leaves) dark green, 8-15 mm long, about 1 mm thick, 4-sided in cross section, on tiny leaf cushions (pegs), straight or slightly bowed, prickly, particularly dense on the upper side of the branch and directed forward (resembling Picea abies, Norway Spruce), 1-2 stomatal lines on the upper side and 3-4 indistinct stomatal lines below.   Cones oblong-cylindrical, 4-6 cm long, rounded at both ends, light brown scales near circular.
• Sun to partial shade.  Best in moist soil.
• Hardy to USDA Zone 5     Native to northwestern China, in mountains and river basins between about 4,500-9,100 ft (1400-2800 m).
• wilsonii: after Ernest H. Wilson (1876-1930), a well known plant collector who introduced a large variety of Asian plant species to the west, his nickname was "China" Wilson.