Picea smithiana seed
LATIN NAME: Picea smithiana
COMMON NAME: Morinda Spruce, West Himalayan Spruce
The morinda spruce is a majestic tree of the western Himalaya, and its long, drooping branchlets give it a soft and graceful beauty. It grows as a tall, evergreen conifer, reaching up to fifty metres, with a straight trunk and a narrow, conical crown of short, stiff, dark green needles, borne on long, slender, drooping branchlets, which give the tree its weeping, elegant habit, and large, cylindrical, hanging cones. It is a tree of the high Himalaya, growing from northeast Afghanistan, across northern Pakistan and India, to central Nepal, and it is one of the most beautiful of the spruces.
The morinda spruce belongs to the pine family, Pinaceae, and it is a spruce native to the western Himalaya and adjacent mountains, from northeast Afghanistan, northern Pakistan and India to central Nepal. It grows in the mountain forests of the region, reaching large sizes.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
The morinda spruce has a genuine and growing place in both forestry and ecological research. It is an important timber tree of the western Himalaya, and it has been studied in forestry science, with researchers examining its growth, its wood and its management in the mountain forests where it grows, where it is a key species for timber and for the protection of the watersheds. The tree has also been studied in ecology, since it is a native of the high mountain forests of the Himalaya, and researchers have examined its role in the mountain ecosystems and its responses to the changing climate, which makes it of interest in research on high-mountain forests. The species has also been studied in horticulture, since it is one of the most beautiful of the spruces, prized for its graceful, drooping branchlets, and it is grown in parks and large gardens in suitable climates. For a spruce of such beauty and such mountain importance, the morinda spruce has a rich and growing record of research.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
Ecologically, the morinda spruce is a keystone of the Himalayan forest. Its cones and seeds feed birds and small mammals, its dense evergreen crown gives shelter, and its deep roots hold the steep mountain slopes and protect the watersheds, while it is a majestic presence in the high forests.
Its economic value is real and considerable. It is an important timber tree of the Himalaya, used for construction and other work, and it is a beautiful ornamental spruce, prized in parks and large gardens for its graceful, drooping branchlets, while it is valuable for the protection of mountain watersheds. For a grower, the morinda spruce is a valuable and majestic tree, and for a gardener it brings soft, graceful elegance to a large garden. The seeds are easy — sow them in a pot of free-draining compost in spring, keep them lightly covered in a sunny spot and water them gently, and they’ll sprout within a few weeks, growing on steadily into a graceful tree with its long, drooping branchlets.
Rare plants
Picea smithiana-common name：Morinda Spruce /West Himalayan Spruce