Hoyt Arboretum, Portland, Oregon, USA

Common name: Colorado Blue Spruce

Family: Pinaceae

Distribution: Rocky Mountains

Habitat: Cool, mountainous regions

IUCN Red list: Least concern

Hardiness: Zone 3a -40 to -35 F

Life form: Evergreen conifer

Comments: You can easily identify Blue Spruce by the distinctive blue needles, which, no doubt, made this tree a popular ornamental tree. The color is variable from gray-green to blue, but the ornamentals are selected for the blue coloring. Like other spruces, the needles have sharp points and stand on small pegs. Colorado Blue Spruce grows throughout the central and southern Rocky Mountains, above 5700 feet (1700 m.) but not at the timberline. It is the state tree of Colorado and Utah. Pungens means sharp or pointed in Latin.