Picea abies

Norway spruce is a member of the pine or Pinaceae family and is native to Northern, Central and Eastern Europe, growing up to 55 m tall and 1.5 m in diameter. It is one of the most widely planted commercial spruces in Europe and is an ornamental tree in both Europe and in North America, with many cultivars.

Norway spruce and Siberian spruce (Picea obovata) are very similar genetically and can be considered two closely related subspecies of P. abies. This means that the geographic range of both subspecies extends from western Europe, eastward across Russia and all the way to the Arctic and the Pacific Ocean, the greatest range of any of the conifers.

• Leaves are needle-like, 15–24 mm long, 4-sided but somewhat flattened, with pointed tips but not as sharp as P. engelmannii or P. pungens. Needles are on short, woody pegs (sterigmata or pulvini).
• Upper branches have a distinct gradual curving-up form, lower branches droop; many branchlets typically hang downwards.
• Species is monoecious; males are yellow-brown in large groups; females are upright, purple.
• Cones are pendulous, non-fragmenting, 9–17 cm long, one of the largest spruce cones, with diamond-shaped scales with an extending, toothed apex (resembling those of Engelmann spruce, but with a narrower tip).
• Buds are reddish brown, 5–7 mm long, acute tips; bark is reddish brown and scaly, turning gray in older trees.