Jezo Spruce
Encyclopedia
The Jezo spruce or Yezo spruce (Picea jezoensis or Picea yezoensis) is a large evergreen
tree
growing to 30-50 m tall and with a trunk diameter of up to 2 m. It is native to northeast Asia
, from the mountains of central Japan
and the Changbai Mountains
on the China
-North Korea
border, north to eastern Siberia
, including the Sikhote-Alin
, Kuril Islands
, Sakhalin
and Kamchatka
. It is found in cold but humid temperate rain forests, and nowhere does its range extend more than 400 km from the Pacific Ocean
.
The bark
is thin and scaly, becoming fissured in old trees. The crown is broad conic. The shoots are pale buff-brown, glabrous (hairless) but with prominent pulvini. The leaves
are needle-like, 15-20 mm long, 2 mm broad, flattened in cross-section, dark green above with no stomata, and blue-white to white below with two dense bands of stomata.
The cones
are pendulous, slender cylindrical, 4-7 cm long and 2 cm broad when closed, opening to 3 cm broad. They have thin, flexible scales 12-18 mm long. They are green or reddish, maturing pale brown 5–6 months after pollination. The seed
s are black, 3 mm long, with a slender, 6-8 mm long pale brown wing.
There are two geographical subspecies
, treated as varieties
by some authors, and as distinct species by others:
Jezo Spruce is very closely related to Sitka Spruce
(Picea sitchensis), which replaces it on the opposite side of the north Pacific. They, particularly subsp. jezoensis, can be difficult to distinguish, with the absence of stomata on the upper surface of the leaves of P. jezoensis being the best feature. Its leaves are also somewhat blunter, less sharply spine-tipped, than Sitka Spruce.
Jezo Spruce is important in the Russian Far East and northern Japan, for timber
and paper
production. Much of what is cut is harvested unsustainably (and often illegally
) from pristine natural forest
s.
It is also occasionally planted as an ornamental tree in large garden
s.
The Ainu
string instrument called tonkori
has a body made from Jezo Spruce.
Evergreen
In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that has leaves in all seasons. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which completely lose their foliage during the winter or dry season.There are many different kinds of evergreen plants, both trees and shrubs...
tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
growing to 30-50 m tall and with a trunk diameter of up to 2 m. It is native to northeast Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, from the mountains of central Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and the Changbai Mountains
Changbai Mountains
The Changbai Mountain Range or Jangbaek Mountain Range are a mountain range on the border between China and North Korea...
on the China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
-North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
border, north to eastern Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
, including the Sikhote-Alin
Sikhote-Alin
The Sikhote-Alin is a mountain range in Primorsky and Khabarovsk Krais, Russia, extending about 900 km to the northeast of the Russian Pacific seaport of Vladivostok...
, Kuril Islands
Kuril Islands
The Kuril Islands , in Russia's Sakhalin Oblast region, form a volcanic archipelago that stretches approximately northeast from Hokkaidō, Japan, to Kamchatka, Russia, separating the Sea of Okhotsk from the North Pacific Ocean. There are 56 islands and many more minor rocks. It consists of Greater...
, Sakhalin
Sakhalin
Sakhalin or Saghalien, is a large island in the North Pacific, lying between 45°50' and 54°24' N.It is part of Russia, and is Russia's largest island, and is administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast...
and Kamchatka
Kamchatka Peninsula
The Kamchatka Peninsula is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of . It lies between the Pacific Ocean to the east and the Sea of Okhotsk to the west...
. It is found in cold but humid temperate rain forests, and nowhere does its range extend more than 400 km from the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
.
The bark
Bark
Bark is the outermost layers of stems and roots of woody plants. Plants with bark include trees, woody vines and shrubs. Bark refers to all the tissues outside of the vascular cambium and is a nontechnical term. It overlays the wood and consists of the inner bark and the outer bark. The inner...
is thin and scaly, becoming fissured in old trees. The crown is broad conic. The shoots are pale buff-brown, glabrous (hairless) but with prominent pulvini. The leaves
Leaf
A leaf is an organ of a vascular plant, as defined in botanical terms, and in particular in plant morphology. Foliage is a mass noun that refers to leaves as a feature of plants....
are needle-like, 15-20 mm long, 2 mm broad, flattened in cross-section, dark green above with no stomata, and blue-white to white below with two dense bands of stomata.
The cones
Conifer cone
A cone is an organ on plants in the division Pinophyta that contains the reproductive structures. The familiar woody cone is the female cone, which produces seeds. The male cones, which produce pollen, are usually herbaceous and much less conspicuous even at full maturity...
are pendulous, slender cylindrical, 4-7 cm long and 2 cm broad when closed, opening to 3 cm broad. They have thin, flexible scales 12-18 mm long. They are green or reddish, maturing pale brown 5–6 months after pollination. The seed
Seed
A seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s are black, 3 mm long, with a slender, 6-8 mm long pale brown wing.
There are two geographical subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
, treated as varieties
Variety (biology)
In botanical nomenclature, variety is a taxonomic rank below that of species: as such, it gets a three-part infraspecific name....
by some authors, and as distinct species by others:
- Picea jezoensis subsp. jezoensis (Jezo Spruce). All of the range except as below, south to HokkaidōHokkaido, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
, Japan. Shoots very pale buff-brown, almost white; stomatal bands blue-white; cones pale brown with flexible scales. - Picea jezoensis subsp. hondoensis (Mayr) P. A. Schmidt (Hondo Spruce). An isolated southern population on high mountains in central HonshūHonshuis the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...
, Japan. Shoots buff-brown to orange-brown, less often very pale; stomatal bands bright white; cones orange-brown with stiffer scales.
Jezo Spruce is very closely related to Sitka Spruce
Sitka Spruce
Picea sitchensis, the Sitka Spruce, is a large coniferous evergreen tree growing to 50–70 m tall, exceptionally to 95 m tall, and with a trunk diameter of up to 5 m, exceptionally to 6–7 m diameter...
(Picea sitchensis), which replaces it on the opposite side of the north Pacific. They, particularly subsp. jezoensis, can be difficult to distinguish, with the absence of stomata on the upper surface of the leaves of P. jezoensis being the best feature. Its leaves are also somewhat blunter, less sharply spine-tipped, than Sitka Spruce.
Jezo Spruce is important in the Russian Far East and northern Japan, for timber
Timber
Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...
and paper
Paper
Paper is a thin material mainly used for writing upon, printing upon, drawing or for packaging. It is produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from wood, rags or grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets....
production. Much of what is cut is harvested unsustainably (and often illegally
Illegal logging
Illegal logging is the harvest, transportation, purchase or sale of timber in violation of laws. The harvesting procedure itself may be illegal, including using corrupt means to gain access to forests; extraction without permission or from a protected area; the cutting of protected species; or the...
) from pristine natural forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
s.
It is also occasionally planted as an ornamental tree in large garden
Garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential garden, but the term garden has...
s.
The Ainu
Ainu people
The , also called Aynu, Aino , and in historical texts Ezo , are indigenous people or groups in Japan and Russia. Historically they spoke the Ainu language and related varieties and lived in Hokkaidō, the Kuril Islands, and much of Sakhalin...
string instrument called tonkori
Tonkori
The is a plucked string instrument played by the Ainu people of Hokkaidō, northern Japan and Sakhalin. It is unfretted and has between three and five strings, which are not stopped but instead played "open." The instrument is believed to have been developed in the Karafuto region of Sakhalin.The...
has a body made from Jezo Spruce.