Plant Studies: Colorado blue spruce and Engelmann spruce

     I would be doing a disservice to myself if I didn't mention plants on here from time to time. I'm studying Natural Resources in college and have found that I have a passion for plant identification. One of my favorite ways to study plants and commit them to memory is by doing watercolor studies of them. Currently I'm working on a book devoted to the trees I have learned this past semester in one of my classes. 

     To do these watercolor studies I start out with a basic pencil outline. I then go in and add a light wash layer of the color I want to use. I them mix deeper and richer colors until I have layered in all the tones I want to include, allowing each layer to dry before adding more paint. After I complete the watercolor I then go in with micron pens and add details, bringing out the finer features of the plants in order to better differentiate the two. 

Picea pungens and Picea engelmannii

     These two spruces, Picea pungens (Colorado blue spruce) and Picea engelmannii (Engelmann spruce) are two native spruce species to the Colorado Rockies (where I have spent most of my studies thus far). While you would imagine that the Colorado blue spruce would be distinguishable by its blue-green needles, it would be unwise to identify the tree by that characteristic alone. Blue spruces can be quite green, and Engelmann spruces can appear very blue. The best defining character I look for is on the new twigs of the trees. On Picea pungens, the twigs are glossy and smooth. The twigs of Picea engelmannii have tiny hairs on them, exhibiting a characteristic called 'pubescence'. The Engelmann also have much smaller cones than the blue spruce, and will be found at higher elevation. In fact Picea engelmannii is one of the dominant tree species within the subalpine forests, along with Abies lasiocarpa (subalpine fir).
     I find the intricate details of plants to be so fascinating, and love having the ability to walk into a forest and greet the plants I see by name, almost as if we were old friends.