LATIN NAME
Picea glauca
OTHER NAMES
Name(s) in English:
skunk spruce, pasture spruce, Canadian spruce, cat spruce. 1
Name(s) in Ojibwe(Anishinaabemowin):
Gaawaandag 2
Name(s) in French:
Épinette blanche 1, sapinette blanche, petite épinette. 3
Name(s) in Cree:
Sihta, Ithinihtak4 , Wâpasiht 5, minihiikw. 6
Name(s) in Michif:
La nipint blaan 7
Name(s) in Dakota:
Wazican 8
* Know the name? Know another word for the same plant not listed above? We’d love to hear about it! Please add in the comments below along with any info that might help, such as links, dialect, area you are from, where you heard it.
BIOLOGICAL INFORMATION
Plant Type
Evergreen conifer 9
Habitat
Found in boreal shield ecozone 10, and invades abandoned farmland in eastern Canada, and also found at the arctic tree line. 1
Zone
0a to 7a 11
via Wikimedia Commons/ Flickr, licensed CC BY-SA 2.0. No changes made.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Picea_glauca_cone_Denali.jpg
How to Identify the Species
Leaves: four-sided stiff needles with dull pointed tip that’s green to blue-green in color. 1
Branches: the bark is smooth and thin with light grey coloration when young, with age it becomes darker and scaly. the twigs are hairless when mature and with rounded leaf cushions and open grooves. 1
Seeds: mature seed cones are slender cylinders with blunt tips and no stakes. Typically the length of the cone is 3-6 cm and the scales are brown, thin, tough, with rounded smooth outer margins. 1
What to Look For
Four-sided needles (square)
Grey bark
Blunt ended slender cylindrical brown seed cones
Indigenous Context
– The Cree peoples boiled its boughs, large branches, to purify indoor air and clean surfaces. 6
– The Red River Metis would make tea or build a steam bath from the needles of the white spruce to reduce congestion, flu symptoms, and reduce mucus buildup. 12
– Metis fiddlers used the gum of the White Spruce to rosin their bows. 13
Interesting or unique facts about this species
– The white spruce is Manitoba’s provincial tree. 14
– Some White spruce can live for more than 250 years 15
– White spruce also helps stabilize soils and protect watersheds! 15
STRUCTURE
Height at Maturity
15-25 meters 16
Canopy Spread
3-6 meters 9
OTHER INFORMATION
Soil Type
Moist loam or alluvium, although it’s tolerant of many soil types. Soil should be well draining and have a pH of 6.8-7.2. 17
Sun Conditions
Sunny, 6 hours or more of direct sun. 18
Watering
During germination the soil must be kept moist but not water logged. 19 Once planted outside, young white spruce trees require watering once a week under normal conditions and if very dry or hot then watering twice a week is appropriate. Watering should be plentiful and done in the morning to give the foliage a chance to dry and prevent fungus or disease. 20
Seed Collection
The seeds appear in May and should be collected around August to mid-September. 21 Collect once cones turn brown and the scales are not fully open, a cut test is recommended when collecting cones to check the maturity of the cone, cut the cone in half and there should be 10-14 dark brown mature seeds.22The cones must be collected in a container that has a good amount of air flow like a burlap sack, the seeds are then extracted by air drying the cones and tumbling them. 23If the seeds are intended to be stored, freezing in a sealed container is effective. 22
Growing White Spruce from seed
There are two protocols which can be followed one which involved seed chilling and the other does not. The first strategy is to chill the seeds at 3-5℃ for 21 days on a moist paper towel in a sealed transparent container, then sow into appropriate soil 22and allow for germination. Another strategy is soaking the seeds in water at room temperature for 24hrs and then sowing the seeds 1/8 inches deep into growing medium then water the pot gently and mulch if planting outdoor. 19 Germination of white spruce takes 3-4 weeks 23 with a recommended temperature of 15-20°C, with old seeds possibly benefiting from germination at the lower end of the range.24
- Natural Resources Canada. “White Spruce”. Trees, Insects, Mites, Diseases of Canada’s Forests. Government of Canada. https://tidcf.nrcan.gc.ca/en/trees/factsheet/38[↩][↩][↩][↩][↩][↩]
- Roger Roulette for Winnipeg Trails, 2021[↩]
- Office québécois de la langue française. (1995). Épinette blanche. Grand dictionnaire terminologique, Vitrine linguistique. https://vitrinelinguistique.oqlf.gouv.qc.ca/fiche-gdt/fiche/18493432/epinette-blanche[↩]
- Ogg, A. (2020, March 10). Trees: Charlie Venne & Solomon Ratt (y- and th-dialects). Cree Literacy Network. https://creeliteracy.org/2020/03/10/trees-charlie-venne-solomon-ratt-y-and-th-dialects/[↩]
- Online Cree Dictionary. (n.d.). White spruce [Search results]. Retrieved October 21, 2026, from https://www.creedictionary.com/search/?q=white+spruce&scope=0[↩]
- Cree Board of Health and Social Services of James Bay. “Traditional Medicine: White Spruce.” Cree Health, 20 Jan. 2021, updated 15 Jan. 2025, https://www.creehealth.org/health-tips/traditional-medicine-white-spruce[↩][↩]
- Government of Manitoba. (n.d.). Trees of Manitoba field guide. https://www.gov.mb.ca/nrnd/forest/pubs/forest_lands/field_guide.pdf[↩]
- Manitoba Department of Education, Native Education Branch. (1981). Native language instruction guide: Levels I to IV (K–3): Dakota. Manitoba Indigenous Cultural Education Centre. https://www.micec.com/wcm-docs/docs/7080_lang_resources/nligk3d.pdf[↩]
- The Morton Arboretum. (n.d.). White spruce. https://mortonarb.org/plant-and-protect/trees-and-plants/white-spruce/[↩][↩]
- Berry, Catriona. “Meet Some of Manitoba’s Nicest Native Plants.” WWF-Canada, 12 may 2023, https://wwf.ca/stories/meet-some-of-manitobas-nicest-native-plants/[↩]
- “Picea glauca (Moench) Voss.” Canada’s Plant Hardiness Site, Government of Canada, https://planthardiness.gc.ca/?phz=p52847451971-2000&s=b&speciesid=5284745&m=7&lang=en#[↩]
- Manitoba Métis Federation. “Plants of the Homeland: Greenery That Has Shaped Red River Métis Traditions.” Manitoba Métis Federation, 3 Mar. 2026, https://www.mmf.mb.ca/mmf-spotlight/plants-of-the-homeland-greenery-that-has-shaped-red-river-metis-traditions[↩]
- Barkwell, L. J. (2018). La Michinn: Traditional Métis medicines and healing. Louis Riel Institute. https://www.academia.edu/38819563/La_Michinn_Traditional_Metis_Medicines_and_Healing[↩]
- Government of Manitoba. Official Emblems of Manitoba: The Coat of Arms, Emblems and the Manitoba Tartan Act. Manitoba Legislative Assembly, https://www.gov.mb.ca/legislature/visiting/docs/symbolsofmanitoba.pdf[↩]
- Nesom, Guy. “White Spruce: Picea glauca (Moench) Voss.” USDA NRCS Plant Guide, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service, https://plants.sc.egov.usda.gov/DocumentLibrary/plantguide/pdf/pg_pigl.pdf[↩][↩]
- “White Spruce.” Native Plant Encyclopedia, Canadian Wildlife Federationhttps://cwf-fcf.org/en/resources/encyclopedias/native-plant-encyclopedia/?plantid=131[↩]
- “Picea glauca (White Spruce).” Native Plants of North America, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, University of Texas at Austin, https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=PIGL[↩]
- Native Plant Encyclopedia. Canadian Wildlife Federation,, https://cwf-fcf.org/en/resources/encyclopedias/native-plant-encyclopedia/?src=menu?resource_type=encyclopedia[↩]
- Evergreen Seed Co. (2026, September 18). How to grow white spruce trees from seed (germination guide). https://evergreenseedco.com/blogs/growing-guides/how-to-grow-white-spruce-from-seed?srsltid=AU7gw4Xhu2XTyIsaIlJGD1kRVNlXggH114lUs516FK8Oaqg2f2TzQd6G[↩][↩]
- Perenual. (n.d.). White spruce (Picea glauca): Info & guide. Retrieved October 21, 2026, from https://www.perenual.com/plant-database-search-guide/species/6695/guide[↩]
- Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. Tree Seed Crop Forecasting and Collecting. Government of Ontario, https://www.publications.gov.on.ca/store/20170501121/Free_Download_Files/010373_U.pdf[↩]
- Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, National Tree Seed Centre. (2025). Picea glauca. https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2026/rncan-nrcan/Fo3-7-1-2025-eng.pdf[↩][↩][↩]
- Plant propagation protocol for Picea glauca. (2015). ESRM 412: Native Plant Production, University of Washington. https://courses.washington.edu/esrm412/protocols/2015/PIGL.pdf[↩][↩]
- Robb, L. (2020). Seed matters 6: Greenhouse temperatures for sowing Alberta pines and spruce. Alberta Tree Improvement & Seed Centre. https://open.alberta.ca/dataset/68ca7db1-1ea7-4873-b612-877265dabbed/resource/9894df00-7c51-481a-b3ae-dd61d4198174/download/af-seed-matters-6-greenhouse-temperatures-for-sowing-alberta-pines-and-spruce.pdf[↩]
