by Ed Van Zandt

Each time I walk the Hylebos boardwalk I never fail to pause and look up at the "mother of all Sitka spruces".  I have come to privately name this old veteran "The Grouse Ladder", which is the old logger term for a large, heavily branched conifer tree.  It is a stalwart sentinel that has withstood many natural attacks that have taken several companions.  T

here are 21 conifer species native to the State of Washington.  One-third of these species grow naturally at low elevations west of the Cascade Mountains.  Of these species, Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis) is one of our great natural treasures.  Sometimes called Tidewater spruce, it has a natural range along the Pacific coast of North American from Kodiak Island in Alaska to just north of San Francisco Bay, California.  The inland range is usually not more than 50 miles from saltwater, although occasionally it is established farther inland along major rivers.  For example several old-growth Sitka spruce are established in Federation Forest State Park east of Enumclaw, along the White River.   

Sitka spruce, located in good growing conditions, can reach over 200 feet in height, and the bole can well exceed five feet in diameter at breast height.  The tree is supported by a very shallow but wide spreading root system.  In some instances it can form pure stands and also grows in association with Western hemlock, Western red cedar, Douglas fir and hardwood tree species such as big-leaf maple, red alder and black cottonwood.  Over its range the largest trees are found on deep loam with high moisture content.  Sitka spruce also invades the peat bogs of the Puget Sound region.  On exposed coastal locations it can become greatly dwarfed and even prostrate.  It is not unusual to see pure Sitka spruce stands molded into unusual shapes by the frequent heavy wind action. 

Surprisingly, Sitka spruce has thin bark which is only about one inch thick even on old-growth trees.  Also the bark is broken into thin, elliptical, loosely attached scales which are silvery-gray to purplish-gray in color.  The needles are about one inch long, very sharp-pointed and usually extend at right angles from all sides of the branch.  The male and female flowers are separate, about one-half inch long and located on the same tree on branches that are one year old.  Pollination occurs by wind action with seed cones maturing in one season.  The cones are pendant-shaped and attain a length of three to four inches.  The cones have erose papery scales and fall after the single-winged seeds are dispersed.   

Along with conifer species such as hemlock and the true firs, Sitka spruce is known in the wood products industry as a "white wood."  This is due to the bright coloration of the wood produced from these species - as opposed to the yellowish coloration characteristic of wood from Douglas fir, cedar and ponderosa pine.  This whitewood condition was especially important in the Japanese house-building industry because of the traditional post and beam type of construction that permanently exposed a considerable amount of the lumber.  Over time an increasing amount of new Japanese house construction is switching to American-style frame construction.  As a result there has been a substantial reduction in demand for lumber from whitewood species. 

In addition to the bright-color characteristic of Sitka spruce, it is also a very sturdy wood.  It has been sought after where great strength is required.  During the Second World War Sitka spruce was used extensively by the British for the frame of the Mosquito fighter-bomber.  Also during the same period, Howard Hughes used Sitka spruce in large part to build the frame of the famous "Spruce Goose", which was a very large six-engine seaplane. 

Although Sitka spruce remains a common species along the immediate ocean coast of Washington, its natural presence around Puget Sound has become very rare.  As a result we are fortunate to have the Hylebos Sitka spruce stand permanently protected to observe and enjoy.         

Ed Van Zandt is a retired Weyerhaeuser forester. He teaches a class on the identification of native trees and shrubs at Highline Community College during Spring, Summer, and Fall quarters.