Inflorescence.—April to May, a week or two earlier than the red spruce; sterile flowers terminal or axillary, on wood of the preceding year; about 3/8 inch long, ovate; anthers madder-red: fertile flowers at or near end of season's shoots, erect; scales madder-red, spirally imbricated, broader than long, margin erose, rarely entire.
Fruit.—Cones, single or clustered at or near ends of the season's shoots, attached to the upper side of the twig, but turning downward by the twisting of the stout stalk, often persistent for years; ½-1½ inches long; purplish or grayish brown at the end of the first season, finally becoming dull reddish or grayish brown, ovate, ovate-oval, or nearly globular when open; scales rigid, thin, reddish on the inner surface; margin rounded, uneven, eroded, bifid, or rarely entire.
Horticultural Value.—Best adapted to cool, moist soils; of little value under cultivation; young plants seldom preserving the broad-based, cone-like, symmetrical heads common in the spruce swamps, the lower branches dying out and the whole tree becoming scraggly and unsightly. Seldom offered by nurserymen.
Plate VI.—Picea nigra.
| 1. Branch with sterile flowers. |
| 2. Stamen, front view. |
| 3. Stamen, side view. |
| 4. Stamen, top view. |
| 5. Branch with fertile flowers. |
| 6. Cover-scale and ovuliferous scale, outer side. |
| 7. Ovuliferous scale with ovules, inner side. |
| 8. Fruiting branch. |
| 9. Seed. |
| 10. Leaf. |
| 11. Cross-sections of leaves. |