 | Picea martinezii T. F. Patterson 1988Common NamesNuevo León spruce.Taxonomic notesConsidered synonymous with P. chihuahuana Martínez by some authors (1), but proved clearly distinct on detailed analysis, "justifying the retention of P. martinezii as a separate species" (5).DescriptionA tree to at least 35 m, possibly 40 m tall. Primary branches level, side branches and twigs moderately pendulous on mature trees. Shoots stout, pale brown to orange-brown. Leaves bright green, glossy with inconspicuous stomata (very unlike the matt blue-green of P. chihuahuana), 23-28 mm (c.f. 17-23 mm in P. chihuahuana), uniquely in Picea flattened not dorsiventrally but from side to side, exceedingly sharp (readily drawing blood when shoots grasped!) but with a shorter spine tip than P. chihuahuana. Cones green ripening orange-brown, cylindrical, (8.5-) 11-16 cm long (c.f. 7-12 cm in P. chihuahuana), 5.5-6 cm broad when open with large scales (c.f. 4-5 cm in P. chihuahuana; no overlap), scales widely spaced, 12-16 scales crossed in 10cm length of an open cone (c.f. congested, 25-30 per 10 cm in P. chihuahuana; no overlap), 26-32 mm long (c.f. 18-23 mm in P. chihuahuana; no overlap), 21-25 mm wide (c.f. 14-20 mm in P. chihuahuana; no overlap), apex smoothly rounded (truncated, almost square-ended, in P. chihuahuana). Seed 4-5mm, black, with a 15mm wing. (Data from (4, 5), M. P. Frankis' Nuevo León field notes and cones in M. P. Frankis collection).RangeMexico: Nuevo León, in the Sierra Madre Oriental in two small populations, at El Butano, 6km SE of La Trinidad (25°11'N 100°07'W), and in Cañada La Tinaja on Rancho La Encantada near Zaragoza (23°54'N 99°47'W), at 2150-2600m (3, 4). USDA hardiness zone 8.Big TreeOldestDendrochronologyEthnobotanyObservationsRemarksDiscovered 1981 (3). Listed as critically endangered, it is known from only two sites, one containing a few hundred trees, the other only about a dozen, growing in canyons on moist north-facing scree slopes. Regeneration is poor but currently thought to be adequate, but a decline in the population could easily occur. "Timber has been extracted in recent years in the larger of the two populations. The other population has fewer than 15 individuals. Fire is the main threat" (2).Citations(1) Farjon 1990.(2) World Conservation Monitoring Centre - Trees. (3) Müller-Using, B. & R. Lässig. 1986. Zur Verbreitung der Chihuahua-Fichte. Mitt. Dtsch. Dendrol. Ges. 76: 157-169. (4) Patterson, T. F. 1988. A new species of Picea (Pinaceae) from Nuevo León, México. Sida 13: 131-135. (5) Taylor, R. J., T. F. Patterson & R. J. Harrod. 1994. Systematics of Mexican Spruce - Revisited. Systematic Botany 19: 47-59. This page co-edited with Michael P. Frankis, Dec-1998. |
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