The Tree

Sitka Spruce is the largest of all spruces in this country, reaching a height of 160 feet or more and a diameter of from three to eight feet. The trunk is generally swollen at the base, but with a high clear stem, in dense stands, of 50 to 75 feet. The bark is very thin for a tree of this size, being only one-quarter to one-half inch thick. It is a deep reddish brown or dark purple color and broken into large thin scales. The needles are stiff, prickly, sharply pointed and stand out almost at right angles to the twig and grow all around it. The cones are from two to four inches long, hang down conspicuously from the ends of the high branchlets and are a pale yellow to reddish chocolate color. The largest known living spruce in the world is a Sitka Spruce now growing in the State of Washington. It is 280 feet high and 14 feet in diameter.

Sitka Spruce cone and foliage

Sitka Spruce foliage, sharp and prickly

Sitka Spruce cone

Common Names in Use

• Sitka Spruce (trade)
• Great Tideland Spruce (Cal., lit.)
• Menzies’ Spruce
• Silver Spruce (trade)
• Sequoia Silver Spruce (trade)
• Spruce(trade)
• Tideland Spruce (Cal., Oreg., Wash.)
• Western Spruce
• Western Sitka Spruce (trade)
• West Coast Spruce (trade)
• Yellow Spruce (trade)

Growth Range

The Sitka Spruce grows naturally in a very narrow strip along the Pacific Coast from Alaska south to Northern California, at elevations from sea level to 3,000 feet. It is rarely found more than 40 to 50 miles inland.

The Wood

The heartwood of the Sitka Spruce ranges in color from a light pinkish yellow, to tan with a purplish tinge, darkening somewhat on exposure to a silvery brown frequently tinged with red. The sapwood is a creamy white, which gradually shades into the heartwood. The wood is without taste or odor, soft, fine straight-grained, uniform in texture, slightly lustrous, and moderately light in weight. It works very easily and the smooth finish has a silky sheen. It nails easily and holds nails and screws very well.

Uses

This wood was very highly prized for aircraft construction before metal planes replaced the wooden craft. Because of its long, strong fibers, Sitka Spruce is a favorite pulpwood for the finer grades of paper. It is used for lumber, boxes, crates, furniture, planing mill products, doors, blinds, sash, general mill work, poultry and apiary supplies, patterns, refrigerators, boat construction, and cooperage. Small quantities are used for piano sounding boards.