Picea jezoensis aka Yeddo Spruce

Picea jezoensis is an evergreen tree in the pine family. Its common names include Yeddo spruce and Yezo spruce. It comes from temperate parts of northern Asia. Sources differ on the limits of its native range. Kew lists Jilin in China through to northern Korea. Plants For A Future also includes Japan and eastern Russia. It grows in mountain areas and river basins. These sites lie 984–5,577 feet [300–1,700 metres] above sea level.

This spruce becomes a large tree and needs ample space. Missouri Botanical Garden lists a spread of 30 feet [9.14 metres]. In its native habitat, it reaches about 150 feet [45.72 metres]. The evidence gives no separate height range for garden trees. Its flat needles overlap and reach about three-quarters of an inch long. Their upper sides shine dark green; their undersides look silvery white. The gray-brown bark has deep cracks and peels away. The foliage stays on the tree through winter.

This conifer bears cones rather than true flowers or fruit. Its cones measure about two to three and a half inches long. Plants For A Future lists several parts as edible. Young male cones can be eaten raw or cooked for flavour. Cooking immature female cones provides another food source. Roasting their centres gives a sweet food. Dried inner bark can thicken soup or supplement bread flour. The source treats this as food for emergencies. The seeds are edible raw but small and hard to use. Young shoot tips can make tea containing vitamin C.

Grow this spruce in full sun with moist, well-drained loam. It needs moderate water and suits places with cool summers. It does poorly in the heat and humidity of the deep South. Missouri Botanical Garden gives USDA hardiness zones 3–7. It rates maintenance needs as low and notes deer resistance. The tree suits large gardens as a specimen or woodland canopy. Growers also use it for bonsai. Its evergreen leaves give the garden interest in winter.

Serious pest and disease problems are not usual. Still, wood rot, brown rot and spruce budworm can occur. Japan harvests the tree for timber. Its light, flexible wood serves furniture, building and paper production. The bark supplies tannin, while leaves yield an essential oil. Plants For A Future records medicinal resin use and no known hazards. That statement does not establish safety for every use.