Scientific name: Picea orientalis (Linnaeus) Peterm. 1838

Synonyms: Abies orientalis (L.) Poir., Abies wittmanniana Voss, Picea withmanniana Carrière, Picea wittmanniana Fisch. ex Gordon, Pinus orientalis L.

Common names: Caucasian spruce, Oriental spruce, Aghmosavluri Nadzvi (Georgian), Jel Kavkasskaja, Jel Vostochnaya (Russian), Doğu Ladini (Turkish)

Description

Tree to 35(-50) m tall, with trunk to 2 m in diameter. Bark grayish brown, flaking, becoming rough with small, scaly plates. Crown densely conical, with numerous gently downswept branches turning up at the ends and bearing short, dangling side branches. New branchlets pale yellowish brown, covered with brownish hairs. Buds 3-5 mm long, not resinous. Needles shiny dark green, 0.6-1 cm long, angled or curved forward, square, with one or two lines of stomates on the two outer faces and two to five lines on the inner ones, blunt. Pollen cones 10-20 mm long, pink. Seed cones (4.5-)6-10 cm long, purple before maturity, ripening reddish brown. Seed scales broadly egg-shaped to circular, thin but woody and stiff. Seed body 3-4.5 mm long, the wing 6-9 mm longer.

Caucasus and Pontic Mountains around the eastern end of the Black Sea in Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Turkey (the old Orient, “east”, of the species name). Forming pure stands or mixed with other conifers and hardwoods, often as a dominant on moist, shaded slopes or in ravines; (50-)1,000-2,100 m.

Conservation Status

Red List Category & Criteria: Least Concern

Picea orientalis is listed as Least Concern in view of its wide distribution, presumed large population, and because it is unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a threatened category but population monitoring as well as control over logging are necessary conservation actions to avoid future decline. The species makes up coniferous and mixed forests in upper montane zone covering large areas within the distribution range. This shade-enduring and moisture-loving tree usually grows on brown forest soils but can often be found also on stony and rocky slopes from the Black Sea coast to the Central Greater Caucasus and the eastern ends of the Trialeti ridge on the Lesser Caucasus. It forms pure stands or is associated with Abies nordmanniana, Pinus kochiana (Pinus sylvestris var. hamata), Fagus orientalis. Oriental spruce dominated forest may have various types of undergrowth, of which the Colchic type made up of evergreen shrubs and dwarf trees such as Laurocerasus officinalis, Ilex colchica, Buxus colchica, Taxus baccata, Rhododendron spp. is worth special mentioning. Selective logging, agricultural land development and insect damage are the major threats to the species although these are not thought to be causing an overall decline. Oriental spruce is an important timber tree in the Caucasus, where it forms extensive pure stands, many of which are managed for forestry. It has also been introduced as a forestry plantation tree in countries in the eastern Mediterranean. The wood of this species is of good quality, comparable to that of Norway spruce, and is put to similar uses. Among these are construction, flooring, carpentry, furniture making, and parts of musical instruments. In horticulture, this spruce is sometimes grown as a Christmas tree, but more commonly as an amenity tree for parks and large gardens in many European countries and in the USA. A good number of cultivars is in the trade, among which are dwarf forms, forms with yellowish flushing leaves and those with 'mounding' habits. Picea orientalis occurs in a number of protected areas throughout its range, e.g. Meryemana Forest (Pontic Mts., Turkey), Kintrishi, Ritsa, Algeti Protected Areas (Georgia), Teberda Nature Reserve (Russian Caucasus). Population monitoring; species based actions such as selective logging and trade management are needed.

References

Farjon, A. (2010). A Handbook of the World's Conifers. Koninklijke Brill, Leiden.
Eckenwalder, J.E. (2009) Conifers of the World: The Complete Reference. Timber Press, Portland.
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Cambridge, UK /Gland, Switzerland