The large evergreen Ayan spruce tree grows in the wild up to 60 m, but is usually much shorter (up to 35 m) when grown by humans in landscape parks. The homeland of spruce is the mountains of central Japan, the mountainous borders of China with North Korea and Siberia. Trees grow on average 40 cm per year. The increase in girth is faster, usually 4 cm per year.
Ayansk spruce is hardy, frost-resistant (frost resistance limit is from -40 to -45 ° C). The needles do not fall off all year round, blooms from May to June, cones ripen in September-October. This species is monoecious (separate color – male or female, but both sexes of color grow on the same plant), pollinated by the wind.
Spruce is suitable for growing on light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and grows on nutrient-poor soil. Suitable pH: acidic and neutral soils, does not disappear even on very acidic soils.
Ayan spruce does not grow in the shade. Prefers moist soil. The plant tolerates strong, but not sea winds. Dies when the atmosphere is polluted.
Description of Ayan spruce
The diameter of the trunk at the level of the human chest is up to 100 cm. The bark is grayish-brown, deeply fissured and flakes off with scales. The branches are pale yellowish brown and smooth. The leaf pads are 0.5 mm long. The needles are leathery, linear, flat, slightly sloping on both surfaces, 15-25 mm long, 1.5-2 mm wide, pointed, with two white stomatal stripes on the upper surface.
Seed cones are single, cylindrical, brown, 4-7 cm long, 2 cm across. Seed scales are ovoid or oblong-ovate, with a blunt or rounded apex, slightly serrated at the upper edge, 10 mm long, 6-7 mm wide. Bracts under the scales of the cones are small, narrowly ovate, acute, slightly serrated at the upper edge, 3 mm long. Seeds are ovoid, brown, 2-2.5 mm long, 1.5 mm wide; wings oblong-ovate, pale brown, 5-6 mm long, 2-2.5 mm wide.
Distribution and ecology of ayan spruce
There are two geographical subspecies of this unusual spruce, which some authors consider as varieties, and others as separate species:
Picea jezoensis jezoensis is more common throughout its range.
Picea jezoensis hondoensis is rare, growing in an isolated population in the high mountains of central Honshu.
Picea jezoensis hondoensis
Ayan spruce, native to Japan, grows in subalpine forests in the South Kuril Islands, Honshu and Hokkaido. In China, it grows in the Heilongjiang province. In Russia, it is found in the Ussuriysk Territory, Sakhalin, the Kuriles and Central Kamchatka, in the northeast from the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk to Magadan.
Spruce use in industry
In the Russian Far East and northern Japan, ayan spruce is used for the production of wood and paper. The wood is soft, lightweight, resilient, flexible. It is used for interior decoration, furniture, construction and chipboard production. Many trees are often cut illegally from pristine natural forests. Ayan spruce is a rare species included in the Red Book.
Use in folk medicine and gastronomy
Edible parts: color, seeds, resin, inner bark.
Young male inflorescences are eaten raw or boiled. Immature female bumps are cooked, the central part is sweet and thick when roasted. Inner bark – dried, ground into powder, and then used as a thickener in soups or added to flour when making bread. A refreshing tea rich in vitamin C is made from the tips of young shoots.
The resin from the trunk of the ayan spruce is used for medicinal purposes. Tannin is obtained from the bark, the essential oil from the leaves.
