Picea meyeri

Picea meyeri

Meyer’s spruce (Picea meyeri Rehder & E.H.Wilson, 1914) is an arboreal species belonging to the Pinaceae family.

Systematic –
From a systematic point of view it belongs to:
Eukaryota domain,
Kingdom Plantae,
Pinophyta Division,
Class Pinopsida,
Pinales Order,
Pinaceae family,
Genus Picea,
Species P. meyeri.
The terms are synonymous:
– Picea meyeri f. pyramidalis (H.W.Jen & C.G.Bai) L.K.Fu & Nan Li;
– Picea meyeri subsp. mongolica (H.Q.Wu) Silba;
– Picea meyeri var. mongolica H.Q.Wu;
– Picea meyeri var. pyramidalis H.W.Jen & C.G.Bai;
– Picea mongolica (H.Q.Wu) W.D.Xu.

Etymology –
The term Picea comes from picea, the Latin name of the wild pine in Virgil and Pliny.
The specific epithet meyeri was attributed in honor of Frank N. Meyer (1875-1918), Dutch botanical collector, great explorer of Asia between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Geographic Distribution and Habitat –
Picea meyeri is a conifer native to Shaanxi, Inner Mongolia, Hebei (Yan Mountains and Taihang Mountains) and Shanxi (Mount Wutai), in China.
Its original habitat is that of the high mountains where it grows from 1600 to 2700 m above sea level, preferring the northern sides of the slopes, on preferably podzolic and non-calcareous soils; the climate of the habitat is cold, continental type, particularly in the west, with moderate annual rainfall (between 500 and 800 mm). It is found in pure or mixed forests in association with other conifers, such as Larix gmelinii var. Principis rupprechtii, Picea wilsonii and Abies nephrolepis.

Description –
Picea meyeri is a tree that grows up to 30 m in height, with a conical crown.
The trunk is monopodial, straight, which can reach 60 cm in diameter.
The bark is grey, wrinkled and furrowed, which flakes easily.
The branches of the first order are long and slender, developed horizontally; those of the second order are numerous, more rigid and shorter near the top. The shoots are firm, short, varying in color from pale yellow to light brown, more or less pubescent until the third year, then glabrous, with a furrowed and rough surface; the pulvini are well developed, 1.5-2 mm, erect or slightly curved, darker in color. The vast crown is conical, or columnar.
The leaves are needle-like, bluish-green in colour, with bluish-grey stomatal bands; they are 1.3-2.5 cm long, linear, straight in young branches, or curved, with a rhombic section, with acute tips; they have stomata on both pages, arranged in 2-5 lines on the upper ones, in 4-5 lines on the lower ones. The buds are ovoid-conical, more or less acute, 6-10 mm long, resinous; the perulae are triangular, acute, light brown in colour, persistent for several years.
The male strobili are formed in the axillary position, are 2-2.5 cm long, first yellow-reddish in color, then yellow-orange.
The female cones are reddish-purple when immature, then reddish-brown or grey-brown; these are initially erect, then pendant, oblong-oval then cylindrical, sessile or with a short peduncle, 7-10 cm long and 2.5-3.5 cm wide, with an obtuse tip. The macrosporophylls are obovate or suborbicular, 1.5-2 mm long, with a finely striated, slightly convex, glabrous surface and an entire, rounded and convex upper margin. The bracts are ligulate-spatulate, 4-6 mm long, entirely included. The seeds, ovoid-oblong, are brown or blackish-brown, pointed at the base, 3-4 mm long, with an obovate-oblong winged part, 10-15 mm long, yellowish-brown or reddish-brown in colour.

Cultivation –
Picea meyeri is an ornamental conifer, famous for its orderly and regular shape and its lively green colour. Some of these specimens are used as Christmas trees.
This pint prefers cold, continental climates, with moderate annual rainfall of between 500 and 800 mm.
From a pedological point of view it prefers podzolic and non-calcareous soils.
Reproduction occurs by seed.
The seeds are relatively easy to germinate and grow. Dormancy within the seed is short and easily broken and reasonable success can be expected even when seeds are sown without any form of pre-treatment. The advantage of a short pretreatment period is that a greater percentage of seeds will germinate and seedling germination will be synchronized with the germination of most seedlings within a few days of each other.
If pre-treatment is carried out it is recommended to immerse the seeds in water for 24 hours. Drain all the water completely and place the seeds in a zip-lock freezer bag. Place the seeds in the refrigerator, it is important that during this period the seeds do not dry out or are soaked in water otherwise the pre-treatment will be ineffective.
It’s important to continue checking the seeds every week or so to make sure they don’t dry out. You could also incorporate a little moist vermiculite or perlite at the start of the treatment, this helps keep the seeds moist but not waterlogged.
After about 4 weeks in these conditions the seeds are ready to be sown.
Seeds should be sown in containers filled with good quality general potting soil. Suitable containers could be plant pots, seed trays or plug trays, or even improvised containers with drainage holes. Gently firm the compost and sow the seeds on the surface. If sowing in trellis trays, sow 2 or 3 seeds per cell.
Cover the seeds with a couple of millimeters of vermiculite or, failing that, with a thin layer of sifted compost. Follow with gentle watering and keep them at room temperature. Germination will begin within 10-14 days of planting.
The seedlings are reasonably robust and problem-free and usually reach a height of between 2 and 10 cm in the first growing season, depending on the sowing date and cultural techniques.
Developing seedlings should do well in full sun, keep them well watered and free of weeds.
Growth will accelerate in the second and subsequent years, and young developing trees should be repotted as needed, preferably during the dormant season. After perhaps 2 or 3 years they are ready to be planted in their permanent location.

Customs and Traditions –
Picea meyeri was found by Dutch botanist Frans N. Meijer who emigrated to the United States in 1900, changed his name to Frank Meyer and began a career as a plant collector for the USDA and the Arnold Arboretum, traveling through some of the areas wildest and most lawless regions of western China, Turkestan, Manchuria and Korea. Among the more than 2,000 taxa collected was what would become the type specimen of Picea meyeri, found on 25 February 1907 in Wutaishan (五台山) in Shanxi. Meyer spent much of the rest of his life collecting expeditions and died during one of them 11 years later.
The wood of this conifer is of economic importance in northern China, where it is used in construction and for the manufacture of pedestrian bridges, poles and pallets; there are also artificial plantations from which wood used in the paper industry is obtained. Meyer spruce is widely used in reforestation in China, and as an ornamental species in private and public gardens in Europe and North America.
Pwer regarding its state of conservation, the exploitation of its wood, with consequent deforestation, was and remains partially (after the restrictive laws issued in 2002) the greatest risk for the species, with an estimated reduction of 25-30% of the primary range in about a century. For this reason it is classified as a near threatened species in the IUCN Red List.

Preparation Method –
Picea meyeri is a conifer that has no food or medicinal interest while it has an economic value due to the use of its wood, which has led to a notable decrease in its natural habitat.

Guido Bissanti

Sources
– Acta Plantarum – Flora of the Italian Regions.
– Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
– GBIF, the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
– Useful Tropical Plants Database.
– Conti F., Abbate G., Alessandrini A., Blasi C. (ed.), 2005. An annotated checklist of the Italian vascular flora, Palombi Editore.
– Pignatti S., 1982. Flora d’Italia, Edagricole, Bologna.
– Treben M., 2000. Health from the Lord’s Pharmacy, Advice and experiences with medicinal herbs, Ennsthaler Editore.

Photo source:
– https://repo.rbge.org.uk/image_server.php?kind=1500&path_base64=L2l0ZW1faW1hZ2VzL2FjY2Vzc2lvbnMvMTkvODAvMjQvODYvUGhvdG9fNTI4NGU5Zjg1ZDdjZC5qcGc=
– http://www.herbariumhamburgense.de/herbarsheets/disk_batch08/medium/HBG-523175.jpg

Attention: Pharmaceutical applications and food uses are indicated for informational purposes only, they do not represent in any way a medical prescription; we therefore decline any responsibility for their use for healing, aesthetic or food purposes.