''Picea'' × ''albertiana'' (Alberta spruce, Interior spruce, or hybrid white spruce) is a
nothospecies #REDIRECT Hybrid name
In botanical nomenclature, a hybrid may be given a hybrid name, which is a special kind of botanical name, but there is no requirement that a hybrid name should be created for plants that are believed to be of hybrid origin. ...
that is a natural cross between
white spruce White spruce is a common name for several species of spruce (''Picea'') and may refer to:
* '' Picea engelmannii'', native to the Rocky Mountains and Cascade Mountains of the United States and Canada
* ''Picea glauca
''Picea glauca'', the whi ...
and
Engelmann spruce
''Picea engelmannii'', with the common names Engelmann spruce, white spruce, mountain spruce, and silver spruce, is a species of spruce native to western North America. It is highly prized for producing distinctive tone wood for acoustic guitars ...
.
It is a dominant forest species in interior
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
where the ranges of the two parent species overlap.
Description and distribution
The morphology exhibits characteristics of both parent species. The trees take irregular intermediate forms, which may vary in needle length, cone dimensions, cone scale texture, and twig pubescence.
The species can grow up to in height,
and live to be over 100 years old. There is significant evidence that the species complex is locally adapted to cold temperatures, and is specifically adapted to autumn cold hardiness.
The species is especially common in Canada, specifically in the
Northwest Territories
The Northwest Territories is a federal Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada. At a land area of approximately and a 2021 census population of 41,070, it is the second-largest and the most populous of Provinces and territorie ...
and
Yukon
Yukon () is a Provinces and territories of Canada, territory of Canada, bordering British Columbia to the south, the Northwest Territories to the east, the Beaufort Sea to the north, and the U.S. state of Alaska to the west. It is Canada’s we ...
, projecting east to
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...
and down to southern
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...
. It sporadically appears in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
within the states of Washington, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, and western South Dakota. Hybrid populations self-perpetuate without the presence of either parent species.
Ecology
Interior spruce are hosts to the
spruce beetle, which are deadly to infected stands of trees. For example, during the infestation that lead to the
Bowron clearcut, 60% of mature spruce trees were killed in 175,000 hectares of forest over a few years.
Plant tissues of the species are colonized by bacteria of the genera ''
Caballeronia'' and ''
Paraburkholderia''. This association has been studied for the potential
nitrogen-fixing
Nitrogen fixation is a chemical process by which molecular dinitrogen () is converted into ammonia (). It occurs both biologically and abiological nitrogen fixation, abiologically in chemical industry, chemical industries. Biological nitrogen ...
benefits to host trees.
Classification
The complex was first published in 1907 by
Stewardson Brown as ''Picea albertiana''. It was soon recombined as ''Picea glauca'' var. ''albertiana'' by
Charles Sprague Sargent
Charles Sprague Sargent (April 24, 1841March 22, 1927) was an American botanist. He was appointed in 1872 as the first director of Harvard University's Arnold Arboretum in Boston, Massachusetts, and held the post until his death. He published se ...
in 1919,
[ a treatment used by almost all sources until early in the 21st century, when Strong & Hills (2006) concluded the taxon was of hybrid origin.]Plants of the World Online
Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online taxonomic database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
History
Following the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew launched Plants of the World Online i ...
'' (POWO) database.black spruce
''Picea mariana'', the black spruce, is a North American species of spruce tree in the pine family. It is widespread across Canada, found in all 10 provinces and all 3 territories. It is the official tree of Newfoundland and Labrador and is tha ...
. However, this was refuted by Strong (2023), who argued the rationale and name were invalid. Strong referred to ''P. glauca'' × ''P. engelmannii'' hybrids as ''P. albertiana'' subsp. ''albertiana'', and ''P. engelmannii'' × ''P. glauca'' hybrids as ''P. a.'' subsp. ''ogilviei'',
Synonyms
As of 2025, ''Plants of the World Online'' lists 11 synonyms
A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...
of ''Picea'' × ''albertiana''.
See also
* ''Picea'' × ''lutzii'', (Lutz's spruce), a natural hybrid between white spruce and Sitka spruce
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q14956757
Flora of Canada
Flora of the United States
Plants described in 1907
Picea
Plant nothospecies