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State Trees
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The term floral emblem, which refers to flowers specifically,
is primarily used in Australia and Canada. In the United States, the term state flower
is more often used. |
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Colorado Symbols
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Colorado State Tree
Colorado Blue Spruce
(Pinaceae Picea pungens) Adopted on March 7, 1939
The Colorado Blue Spruce, Pinaceae Picea pungens, was adopted as the official state tree
on March 7, 1939, by a resolution of the Colorado General Assembly. C. Parry set about exploring and
"botanizing" this famous landmark in 1862. On this expedition, Charles Parry came across the stately,
pyramidal spruce tree with stiff blue-gray to dark green needles that we call blue spruce or Colorado blue
spruce today. The blue spruce is also sometimes referred to as the silver spruce and pino real.
This tree is known for its stately, majestic, symmetrical form and its beautiful silver-blue color.
Description of the
Colorado State Tree
In Colorado, it grows in small, scattered groves or singly among ponderosa pine, Douglas fir, alpine fir and Englemann spruce. In the northern parts of its range it grows at the 6,000 to 9,000 feet elevation while in the southern parts of its range at 8,000 to 11,000 feet. Its color ranges from green to blue to silver, and is sometimes called the silver spruce. Colorado school children voted on Arbor Day in 1892 to name the blue spruce as the state tree, however it was not until 1939 that the Colorado Blue Spruce was officially designated. Citation: House Joint Resolution 7, 1939.
It is a slow-growing, long-lived tree of medium size that, because of its symmetry and color, is planted extensively as an ornamental. Because blue spruce is relatively scarce and the wood is brittle and often full of knots, it is not an important timber tree.
Common Names:
The Colorado Blue Spruce also called Colorado blue spruce, Colorado spruce, silver spruce, and pino real.
Identification:
- Leaf: Evergreen, stiff, 3/4 to 1 1/4 inch long, yellow-green to bluish or white. Needles are very sharp, and have an acidic taste.
- Flower: Monoecious; males yellow-brown to purple, scattered throughout trees; females purple, upright, in tops of the trees.
- Fruit: Cones are 2 to 4 inches long, cylindrical, light brown in color. Cone scales are pointed with jagged-erose margins. Maturing in autumn.
- Twig: Stout (when compared to other spruces), hairless, orange-brown. Needles are borne on woody pegs. Bud scales are noticeably reflexed.
- Bark: Gray to red-brown, young trees with small, thin scales - older trees developing furrows.
- Form: A medium to large tree with pyramidal form. Branches appear layered, especially with age.
Statute
The Colorado state tree was adopted by Concurrent Resolution and is not recorded as statutory law.
Taxonomic Hierarchy of the Blue Spruce
| Kingdom |
Plantae -- Plants |
| Subkingdom |
Tracheobionta -- Vascular plants |
| Superdivision |
Spermatophyta – Seed plants |
| Division |
Coniferophyta – Conifers |
| Class |
Pinopsida – |
| Order |
Pinales – |
| Family |
Pinaceae – Pine family |
| Genus |
Picea A. Dietr. – spruce |
| Species |
Picea pungens Engelm. – blue spruce |
Source:
Dendrology at Virginia Tech
US Department of Agriculture
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State Trees
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All of the state
trees, except the Hawaii state tree, are native to the state in which they are designated.
tree \ˈtrē\
noun
Etymology: Middle English, from Old English trēow; akin to Old Norse trē tree, Greek
drys, Sanskrit dāru wood
Date: before 12th century
1 a: a woody perennial plant having a single usually elongate main stem generally
with few or no branches on its lower part
b: a shrub or herb of arborescent form <rose trees> <a
banana tree> |
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