Green (Unripe) Seed Cone and Foliage of Caucasian Spruce (Picea orientalis), June, Delaware

Photo of Caucasian Spruce (Picea orientalis)

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Taken on Jun. 29, 2020

This photo shows the unripe, unopened seed cone of a Caucasian spruce (Picea orientalis) planted in landscaping in Delaware.

Both the needles and cones are much smaller than those of the sometimes-confused Norway spruce (Picea abies), which is more frequently used in landscaping. The needles of the Caucasian spruce are extremely short and among the shortest of any spruce. In this picture, the foliage seems to have a slightly bluish color but this is primarily a function of the lighting when this photo was taken. In general the foliage is much less bluish than that of other spruces such as the black spruce (Picea mariana), which also has short needles.

In this photo when you closely examine the cone, you can see that the exposed cone scales tend to be rounded at the bottom, and have a fairly broad shape, different from the more diamond-shape of Norway spruce. Also note that the surface of the cone is rather shiny. This luster is relatively short-lived and will be completely lost by the time the cone ripens and opens. However, it does contrast with the lack of such luster or glossy texture on the Norway spruce cones at a similar level of ripeness, visible in this photo.