Picea pungens is commonly known as blue spruce.  The blue spruce is an evergreen tree that can grow to a height of 50 meters with a diameter at breast height of 150 centimeters.  The tree is largely pyramidal with a cone shaped top and more cylindrical near the base.  The branches appear to be layered as the tree gets older.  The bark of the blue spruce is gray-brown to gray with a broken surface and irregular scaling.  The leaves are 1.6 cm to 3 cm in length with a sharply pointed tip.  The leaves are blue-green to blue in color and are based on a woody peg on the twig.  The cones are green to red and ripen to light brown.  The cones are 6-11 cm in length with elliptic or diamond shaped scales that are widest at the base.  Seed dispersal occurs in the spring followed by a wet summer for optimal germination.

These trees are native to the central and southern regions of the Rocky Mountains. They are found in the high mountains commonly near mountain streams at elevations from 1830 m to 2740 m in the northern range and 2130 m to 3050 m in the southern range.  The blue spruce grows in regions that are cool and humid with summer precipitation.  This tree grows best when there are large amounts of moisture but the blue spruce can withstand drought conditions better than any other spruce species.  It can survive temperatures from -11o C to 22o C.

The blue spruce is used for ornamental landscaping because of its symmetry and color.  It is the state tree of Colorado and Utah.  The two tallest known trees grow in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado.

Image source - www.neartica.com

Image source - www.cnr.vt.edu

Image source - www.conifers.org