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Montana Field Guides

Engelmann Spruce - Picea engelmannii

Native Species

Global Rank: G5
State Rank: S5
(see State Rank Reason below)
C-value: 4


Agency Status
USFWS:
USFS:
BLM:


 

External Links






State Rank Reason (see State Rank above)
See rank details.
  • Details on Status Ranking and Review
    Engelmann Spruce (Picea engelmannii) Conservation Status Review
    Review Date = 05/25/2012
    View State Conservation Rank Criteria
    Population Size

    Score0 - Large: Generally >100,000 individuals.

    Range Extent

    Score0 - Widespread species within Montana (occurs in 5% or more of the state or generally occurring in 6 or more sub-basins.) as well as outside of Montana.

    Area of Occupancy

    Score0 - High: Occurs in >25 Subwatersheds (6th Code HUC’s).

    Environmental Specificity

    Score0 - Low: Species is a generalist that occurs in a variety of habitats and/or is tolerant of disturbed or degraded habitats (C -Values of 1-4).

    Trends

    Score0 - Stable or Increasing: Population size, range, and/or available habitat stable, increasing or fluctuating in the recent past (approximately 30 years).

    Threats

    Score0 - Low: Impacts, if any, to the species are expected to be minor or insignificant (affecting <10% of populations) in severity, scope and immediacy.

    Intrinsic Vulnerability

    Score0 - Low Vulnerability: Species does not have any unusual or specific life history or biological attributes or limted reproductive potential which makes it susceptible to extirpation from stochastic events or other adverse impacts to its habitat and thus slow to recover.

    Raw Conservation Status Score

    Score 0 total points scored out of a possible 19.

 
General Description
Trees up to ca. 50 m tall with narrow, spire-like crowns. Bark gray to reddish brown. Leaves blue-green, 1–2 cm long. Seed cones 3–6 cm long, yellow- to purple-brown. Scales widest above middle with wavy margins along the tip (Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX).

Species Range
Montana Range Range Descriptions

Native
 


Range Comments
BC and AB to AZ, NM, and Mexico (Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX).

Observations in Montana Natural Heritage Program Database
Number of Observations: 10708

(Click on the following maps and charts to see full sized version) Map Help and Descriptions
Relative Density

Recency

 

(Observations spanning multiple months or years are excluded from time charts)



Habitat
Moist to wet forests, often along streams, wetlands; valleys to subalpine (Lesica et al. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. BRIT Press. Fort Worth, TX).

References
  • Literature Cited AboveLegend:   View Online Publication
    • Lesica, P., M.T. Lavin, and P.F. Stickney. 2012. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants. Fort Worth, TX: BRIT Press. viii + 771 p.
  • Additional ReferencesLegend:   View Online Publication
    Do you know of a citation we're missing?
    • Aho, Ken Andrew. 2006. Alpine and Cliff Ecosystems in the North-Central Rocky Mountains. Ph.D. Dissertation. Bozeman, Montana: Montana State University. 343 p.
    • Aldrich, D. F. 1978. Overwintering, springtime development and migration of some Aphidea, including Myzus persicae of Northwestern Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, Montana: Montana State University. 112 p.
    • Ament, R.J. 1995. Pioneer Plant Communities Five Years After the 1988 Yellowstone Fires. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 216 p.
    • Barge, E.G. 2015. Systematics of Lactarius in the Rocky Mountain alpine zone. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 223 p.
    • Bruggeman, J.E. 2006. Spatio-temporal dynamics of the central bison herd in Yellowstone National Park. Ph.D. Dissertation. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 294 p.
    • Cramer, P.C. 1992. Small mammal diversity and abundance in Douglas Fir old growth forests. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 64 p.
    • Culver, D.R. 1994. Floristic analysis of the Centennial Region, Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Montana State University, Bozeman. 199 pp.
    • Daubenmire, R. 1974. Taxonomic and ecological relationships between Picea glauca and Picea engelmannii. Canadian Journal of Botany 52:1545-1560.
    • Forcella, F. 1977. Flora, chorology, biomass and productivity of the Pinus albicaulis-Vaccinium scoparium association. M.S. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 99 pp.
    • Fultz, J.E. 2005. Effects of shelterwood management on flower-visiting insects and their floral resources. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 163 p.
    • Gaffney, W.S. 1941. The effects of winter elk browsing, South Fork of the Flathead River, Montana. Journal of Wildlife Management 5(4):427-453.
    • Glazier, R.J. 1971. Ecological and morphological relationships of subspecies of Peromyscus maniculatus near St. Mary, Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, Montana: Montana State University. 41 p.
    • Grigg, J.L. 2007. Gradients of predation risk affect distribution and migration of a large herbivore. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 94 p.
    • Gustafson, D. L. 1990. Ecology of aquatic insects in the Gallatin River drainage. Ph.D. Dissertation. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 194 p.
    • Harting, A.L. 1985. Relationships between activity patterns and foraging strategies of Yellowstone Grizzly Bears. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 103 p.
    • Hodgson, J.R. 1970. Ecological distribution of Microtus montanus and Microtus pennsylvanicus in an area of geographic sympatry in southwestern Montana. Ph.D. Dissertation. Bozeman, Montana: Montana State University. 65 p.
    • Holbrook, J.D., J.R. Squires, L.E. Olson, N.J. DeCesare, and R.L. Lawrence. 2017. Understanding and predicting habitat for wildlife conservation: the case of Canada Lynx at the range periphery. Ecosphere 8(9):e01939.
    • Hollenbeck, R.R. 1974. Growth rates and movements within a population of Rana pretiosa pretiosa Baird and Girard in south central Montana. Ph.D. Dissertation. Bozeman, Montana: Montana State University. 66 p.
    • Kosterman, M.K., J.R. Squires, J.D. Holbrook, D.H. Pletscher, and M. Hebblewhite. 2018. Forest structure provides the income for reproductive success in a southern population of Canada Lynx. Ecological Applications 28(4):1032-1043.
    • Lesica, P., M.T. Lavin, and P.F. Stickney. 2022. Manual of Montana Vascular Plants, Second Edition. Fort Worth, TX: BRIT Press. viii + 779 p.
    • Little, E.L., Jr. 1979. Checklist of United States trees (native and naturalized). Agriculture Handbook No. 541. U.S. Forest Service, Washington, D.C. 375 pp.
    • Lovaas, A.L. 1957. Mule deer food habits and range use in the Little Belt Mountains, Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 43 p.
    • Martin, S.A. 1985. Ecology of the Rock Creek bighorn sheep herd, Beartooth Mountains, Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 152 p.
    • Martinka, R.R. 1970. Structural characteristics and ecological relationships of male blue grouse (Dendragapus obscurus (Say)) territories in southwestern Montana. Ph.D Dissertation. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 73 p.
    • McCaughey, W.W. 1990. Biotic and microsite factors affecting Pinus albicaulis establishment and survival. Ph.D. Dissertation. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 78 p.
    • McColley, S.D. 2007. Restoring aspen riparian stands with beaver on the northern Yellowstone winter range. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 67 p.
    • Messer, Mathew Adam. 2003. Identifying large herbivore distribution mechanisms through application of fine-scale snow modeling. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 46 p.
    • Mohatt, K.R. 2006. Ectomycorrhizal fungi of whitebark pine (Pinus albicaulis) in the northern Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 132 p.
    • Morgan, J.T. 1993. Summer habitat use of white-tailed deer on the Tally Lake ranger district, Flathead National Forest. Ph.D. Dissertation. Montana State University, Bozeman. pp. 103.
    • Mullen, P.D. 1990. Status report on boreal owl surveys in southwestern Montana, 1989. Montana Natural Heritage Program, Helena, MT. 16 p. + Appendices
    • Peck, S.V. 1972. The ecology of the Rocky Mountain goat in the Spanish Peaks area of southwestern Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 54 p.
    • Picton, H.D. 1959. Use of vegetative types, migration, and hunter harvest of the Sun River elk herd, Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 39 p.
    • Reichel, J.D., D.L. Genter and E. Atkinson. 1992. Sensitive animal species in the Elkhorn and Big Belt Mountains of the Helena National Forest. Unpublished report to the Helena National Forest. Montana Natural Heritage Program, Helena. 158 p.
    • Reinhart, D.P. 1990. Grizzly bear habitat use on cutthroat trout spawning streams in tributaries of Yellowstone Lake. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 128 p.
    • Rouse, R.A. 1957. Elk food habits, range use and movements, Gravelly Mountains, Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 29 p.
    • Roy, J.L. 1992. Ecology of reintroduced Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep following two transplants in the southern Madison Range, Montana. M.SC. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 102 p.
    • Roybal, J.P. 1998. Winter mortality in the Northern Yellowstone Elk herd 1988-1990. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 191 p.
    • South, P.R. 1957. Food habits and range use of the mule deer in the Scudder Creek area, Beaverhead County, Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 34 p.
    • Stansberry, B.J. 1991. Distribution, movements, and habitat use during spring, summer, and fall by mule deer in the North Salish Mountains, Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 64 p.
    • Stevens, D.R. 1965. Range relationships of elk and livestock in the Crow Creek drainage, Elkhorn Mountains, Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 68 p.
    • Stivers, T.S. 1988. Effects of livestock grazing on grizzly bear habitat along the east front of the Rocky Mountains, Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 80 p.
    • Tyers, D.B. 2003. Winter ecology of moose on the Northern Yellowstone Winter Range. Ph.D. Dissertation. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 308 p.
    • Williams, K.L. 2012. Classification of the grasslands, shrublands, woodlands, forests and alpine vegetation associations of the Custer National Forest portion of the Beartooth Mountains in southcentral Montana. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 376 p.
    • Winnie, J.A., Jr. 2006. Behavioral responses of Elk (Cervus elaphus) to the threat of Wolf (Canis lupus) predation. Ph.D. Dissertation. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 80 p.
    • Wood, M.A. 1981. Small mammal communities after two recent fires in Yellowstone National Park. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, Montana: Montana State University. 58 p.
    • Zimmer, J.P. 2004. Winter habitat use and diet of Snowshoe Hares in the Gardiner, Montana area. M.Sc. Thesis. Bozeman, MT: Montana State University. 65 p.
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Engelmann Spruce — Picea engelmannii.  Montana Field Guide.  .  Retrieved on , from