Historic, Archive Document Do assume not content reflects current scientific knowledge, policies, or practices. I Common Trees of Alaska USDA UnitedStates PreparedBy AlaskaRegion Departmentof ForestService R10-MB-378 /UAS\ Agriculture May 1999 Western hemlock - Tsuga heterophylla Needles • Light- to medium-green on top, with two whitish parallel lines beneath, needles are unequal in length from 1/4 to 7/8 inch long; • Blunt-tipped, soft, shiny, and flat, generally growing from two sides of branch parallel to the ground. Cones • Brown, oval-shaped, 5/8 to 1 inch long; • Thin, papery scales. Bark • Reddish-brown when young, turning gray-brown; • Scaly when young, becoming thick and furrowed with age. Size at maturity and lifespan • 100 to 150 feet in height and 2 to 4 feet in diameter; • 200 to 500 years. Habitat and distribution • Sea level to subalpine areas; • Along Coast Range in central California to the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska. heterophylla Tsuga - hemlock Western 2 Mountain hemlock - Tsuga mertensiana Needles • Dark green, white lines on both surfaces, more-or- less equal in length, 1/2 to 1 inch long; • Soft and growing from all sides of the branch in a bottle brush pattern. Cones • Purplish when young, brown when mature; • Cylindrical, 1 to 2-1/2 inches long; • Thin, papery scales. Bark • Divided into narrow flattened ridges, becoming thick and deeply furrowed with age; • Gray when young, turning reddish brown with age. Size at maturity and lifespan. • 50 to 100 feet in height and 1 0 to 30 inches in diameter, can be prostrate in alpine; • Slow-growing trees, size 1 8 to 20 inches in diameter at 1 80 to 260 years; • 400 to 500 years. Habitat and distribution • Sea level to 3,500 feet elevation; • From crest of the Sierra-Nevada in California to the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska. Mountain hemlock - Tsuga mertensiana 3 Alaska yellow-cedar - Chamaecyparis nootkatensis Needles • Scalelike, overlapping, sharp pointed, 1/1 6 to 1/8 inch long; • Yellow-green to deep green; • Top and bottom of branch sprays similar, without apparent white stomate markings. Cones • Spherical about 1/2 inch in diameter; • Green, maturing to brown in 2 years; • Made of 4-6 shield-shaped scales, sharp central point on each scale, scales do not overlap. Bark o Shredding, grayish brown. Size at maturity and lifespan • Slow-growing trees; • 40 to 1 00 feet tall, and 1 to 2 feet in diameter; • Shrub-sized and contorted in bogs and at tree line; • Lives up to ,500 years. 1 Habitat and distribution • Wetland and subalpine forests; • Sea level to tree line; • From Oregon north along coast through Prince William Sound, Alaska. nootkatensis Chamaecyparis - Yellow-cedar Alaska 4 Western redcedar - Thuja plicata Needles • Scalelike shiny yellow-green, 1/1 6 to 1/8 inch long; • Springy, fan-shaped sprays of branches, turning up at ends; • Branch sprays flat and symetrical, bottom side with white stomate markings. Cones • Brown, oval-shaped, 1/2 inch long; • Clustered near end of branches; • Cone scales overlap, woody, and curve outward at maturity. Bark • Fibrous and stringy; • Cinnamon-red when young, becoming graywith age. Size at maturity and lifespan • 70 to 1 00 feet in height in Southeast Alaska (growing much taller in southern part of range) and 2 to 4 feet in diameter (occasionally reaching 6 feet); • 300 to 700 years (occasionally 1,000). Habitat and distribution • Coastal forests; • Sea level to 500 feet in elevation; • From northwestern California to Southeast Alaska just south of Frederick Sound. Western redcedar - Thuja plicata 5 Sitka spruce - Picea sitchensis Alaska's state tree Needles • Dark blue-green, squarish, 5/8 to 1 inch long; • Needles sharp, growing on all sides of branches from woody pegs, a character common to spruce. Cones • Light orange-brown, 2 to 3-1/2 inches long; • Usually found in the top quarter of tree, hanging down from branches; • Papery scales. Bark • Thin and smooth when young, developing scaly plates with age; • Gray, becoming dark purplish brown with age. Size at maturity and lifespan • 1 50 to 225 feet in height and 5 to 8 feet in diameter; • Grows to larger size in the southern partof its range; • 500 to 700 years. Habitat and distribution • Well-drained, upland and riparian forests; • Sea level to tree line; • From northern California, northwest along the coastline to the Alaska Peninsula. sitchensis Picea - spruce Sitka 6 White spruce - Picea glauca Needles • 3/4 to 1 inch long, blue-green, four-angled with whitish lines on all sides; • Rigid, pointed, but not sharp to the touch; • Usually crowded on upper side of the branch. Cones • 1-1/2 to 2-1/2 inches long, light brown; • Narrowly oblong, nearly stalkless, hanging down; • Scales thin and flexible with smooth margins. Bark • Thin, scaly to smooth; • Gray-brown, with white inner bark. Size at maturity and life span • 40 to 70 feet tall, 6 to 1 8 inches in diameter; • Reaches 80 to 1 1 5 feet tall, 30 inches in diameter; • Tree crown, narrow or spire-like; • Can live to an age of 250 to 300 years. Habitat and distribution • From sea level to tree line on a wide variety of habitats; • Throughout southcentral and interior Alaska east through Canada to Atlantic Ocean, from the northern tree line south to the Great Lakes. White spruce hybridizes with Sitka spruce where their ranges overlap, forming Lutz spruce, Picea x lutzii. shows It characteristics intermediate between the two parent trees. White spruce - Picea glauca 7 Black spruce - Picea mariana Needles • 1/2 inch long, light blue-green, four-angled with whitish lines on all sides; • Blunt-pointed; • Current year twigs with short red or brown hairs. Cones • 1 inch long, rounded and dark; • Scales rigid and brittle, margins rounded to toothed; • Stay on for several years, hang on short stalks. Bark • Thin, gray to blackish, becoming flaky with age; • Inner bark is yellow. Size at maturity and life span • 1 5 to 30 feet tall and 3 to 6 inches in diameter, larger in ideal situations; • Can reach 250 years in age. Habitat and distribution • Wet and cold sites on flats or north-facing slopes, also in bogs; • Usually at lower elevations; • Throughout southcentral and interior Alaska east through Canada to Atlantic Ocean, from the northern tree line south to the Great Lakes. mariana Picea - spruce Black 8