NC Native Plant Society:
Plant Details

Picea rubens

Red Spruce, He Balsam

Scientific Name:	Picea rubens
Genus:	Picea
Species Epithet:	rubens
Common Name:	Red Spruce, He Balsam
Plant Type	Tree
Life Cycle	Perennial
Plant Family	Pinaceae (Pine Family)
Native/Alien:	NC Native
Invasive Status:	^(*Key)
Size:	72-100 ft.
Light:	Sun - 6 or more hours of sun per day, Part Shade - 2 to 6 hours of sun per day, Less than 2 hours of sun per day
Soil Moisture:	Moist
Bloom Time:	May, June
Growing Area:	Mountains
Habitat Description:	Common to dominant in spruce and spruce-fir forests at high elevations, scattered in northern hardwood forests, heath balds, boulderfield forests, ridges, and rarely coves, also in bogs or swampy forests at lower elevations (down to about 1000 m), ranging in moisture tolerance from dry ridges (though these are often fog-bathed) to saturated peats, and sometimes planted and naturalized. Though technically an uncommon tree in the NC mountains, as with the Fraser Fir (Abies fraseri), it is common and easily found at higher elevations, usually mixed with the fir from elevations around 5000-5800 feet. Scarce below about 4500 feet elevation.
Leaf Arrangement:	Whorled
Leaf Retention:	Evergreen
Leaf Type:	Leaves needle-like or scale-like
Leaf Form:	Simple
Life Cycle:	Perennial
Wildlife Value:	Highest Wildlife Value
Landscape Value:	Suitable for home landscapes
State Rank:	S3: Vulnerable ^(*Key)
Global Rank:	G5 - Secure ^(*Key)
Note the sharp needles are square in cross section, while fir needles are blunt and flat Transylvania County, NC Larry Mellichamp
The sharp needles grow densely on all sides of the twigs. Blue Ridge Parkway, Jackson Co., NC Bettina Darveaux
Links:	USDA PLANTS Database Record