Puget Sound Native Tree
Botanical Garden
People have created across the United States lists of the largest individual tree of many species as well as typical size of each in a mature forest. They call the largest tree a CHAMPION TREE, for bragging rights.
Sitka Spruce
Typical dimensions of a large tree of this species in a mature forest:
Height:
Diameter:
Age:
Champion tree for this species:
Height:
Diameter:
Age:
250 FEET
7 feet
10 years
300'
12 ft
1000 years
7- The strong and lightweight Sika Spruce wood allowed: Howard Hughes to build the largest airplane in the world; Bill Boeing to build thousands of WW-II warplanes, and the US navy to make fairings for their missiles
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Sitka Spruce
picea sitchensis
Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) is a giant, coastal evergreen conifer, the largest spruce species, thriving along the foggy Pacific Northwest coast from Alaska to Northern California, known for its impressive height, tolerance to salt spray, and exceptionally strong wood used in construction, aircraft, and musical instruments. Key features include stiff, sharp, bluish-green needles, thin scaly bark, and large cones, with the tree being a vital part of the coastal ecosystem and a source of valuable timber.
Sitka Spruce
This tree species was growing at the Dolphin Place location when the property was purchased in 1973.
Exact data was not collected at the time. The following is data recorded in 2020.
Largest tree for this species within Dolphin Place Open Space:
Height:
Diameter:
20 ft
5 inches
Sitka spruce cones are pendulous (hanging down), cylindrical, pale brown/buff when mature, and 2.5 to 4 inches (6-10 cm) long, featuring distinctive thin, papery scales with ragged or wavy edges, and tiny bracts that stick out slightly from the scales, making them easily identifiable from other spruces.
Sitka spruce bark starts smooth and gray on young trees, but as it matures, it becomes thin, flaky, and scaly, turning a grayish-brown or purplish-brown, breaking into large, irregular plates that peel off, often looking like puzzle pieces or cookie shapes.
Sitka spruce needles are stiff, very sharp, 1 to 1.5 inches long, and slightly flattened (not easily rolled), with a glossy green top and distinct white/silvery bands on the underside, attached to twigs by woody pegs. They feel prickly, point outwards, and often appear bluish-green, making them quite distinct from other conifers like firs or pines.