Picea pungens
Foliage and young cones
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Pinophyta
Class:	Pinopsida
Order:	Pinales
Family:	Pinaceae
Genus:	Picea
Species:	P. pungens
Binomial name
Picea pungens Engelm.

Picea pungens, also known as the Blue Spruce or Colorado Blue Spruce, is a species of spruce native primarily to the Western United States, and also the Northeastern U.S. and south-central Eastern Canada.^[1][2]

Distribution[link]

Picea pungens is widely occurring in the montane zone of the central and southern Rocky Mountains, from southeast Idaho and southwest Wyoming, south through Utah and Colorado to Arizona and New Mexico.

It grows at high altitudes from 1,750–3,000 m (5,740–9,800 ft) altitude. Unlike Picea engelmannii (Engelmann Spruce) in the same region, it does not reach the alpine tree-line. It is most commonly found growing along stream sides in mountain valleys, where moisture levels in the soil are greater than the low rainfall in the area would often suggest.^[1][3][4][5]

Description[link]

Picea pungens, the blue spruce, is a medium-sized evergreen tree growing to 25–30 m (82–98 ft) tall, exceptionally to 46 m (151 ft) tall, and with a trunk diameter of up to 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in). The bark is thin and gray, with narrow vertical furrows. The crown is conic in young trees, becoming cylindric in older trees. The shoots are stout, orange-brown, usually glabrous, and with prominent pulvini.^[6]

The leaves are needle-like, 15–30 millimetres (0.59–1.2 in) long, stout, rhombic in cross-section, dull gray-green to bright glaucous blue (very variable from tree to tree in wild populations), with several lines of stomata; the tip is viciously sharp.^[3][4][7]

The cones are pendulous, slender cylindrical, 6–11 cm (2.4–4.3 in) long and 2 cm (0.79 in) broad when closed, opening to 4 cm (1.6 in) broad. They have thin, flexible scales 20–24 mm (0.79–0.94 in) long, with a wavy margin. They are reddish to violet, maturing pale brown 5–7 months after pollination. The seeds are black, 3–4 mm (0.12–0.16 in) long, with a slender, 10–13 mm (0.39–0.51 in) long pale brown wing.^[3][4][6]

Picea pungens does not normally hybridize with other spruces, though limited hybridization occurs between it and Picea engelmannii.^[4][6]

Picea pungens 'Glauca' is a cultivar selected for gray foliage.

Uses[link]

The Navajo and Keres Native Americans used this as a traditional medicinal plant and ceremonial item.^[8]

Symbol

The blue spruce is the State Tree of Utah and Colorado.^[9]

Cultivation[link]

Picea pungens and its many cultivars are cultivated as ornamental trees, and it is among the most widely planted ornamental spruces in gardens and parks.^[1][2][10] It is also grown for the cut Christmas tree industry.^[1]

Cultivars

Many cultivars have been selected for a distinctive form and/or foliage color. They include:

• Picea pungens 'Glauca Globosa' - shrub from 3–5 feet (0.91–1.5 m) in height.^[11]
• Picea pungens 'Fat Albert' - compact perfect cone to 10 feet (3.0 m) of a silver blue color.^[12]
• Picea pungens 'Glauca Jean's Dilly' - shrub from 3–6 feet (0.91–1.8 m) in height.^[13]
• Picea pungens 'Glauca Pendula' - drooping branches, spreads to about 8 feet (2.4 m) wide by 4 feet (1.2 m) tall.^[14]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Picea pungens

Gallery[link]

• 

  Mature cone

• 

  Immature cone

References[link]

Wikispecies has information related to: Picea pungens

External links[link]

• USDA Plant Profile for Picea pungens (blue spruce)
• Conifers.org: Picea pungens (blue spruce) description
• Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center NPIN — Native Plant Information Network
• Interactive Distribution Map of Picea pungens
• Picea pungens — U.C. Photo Gallery

Edgar Meyer
Meyer with his double bass.
Background information
Born	(1960-11-24) November 24, 1960 (age 51)
Origin	Oak Ridge, Tennessee, U.S.
Genres	Classical Bluegrass Progressive bluegrass Jazz, World music
Occupations	Musician Composer
Instruments	Double Bass Piano Guitar Banjo Violin Mandolin Dobro
Labels	Sony Deutsche Grammophon Sugar Hill
Associated acts	Nickel Creek, Strength In Numbers
Website	edgarmeyer.com

Edgar Meyer (born November 24, 1960) is a prominent contemporary bassist and composer. His styles include classical, bluegrass, newgrass, and jazz. Meyer has worked as a session musician in Nashville, part of various chamber groups, a composer, and an arranger. His collaborators have spanned a wide range of musical styles and talents; among them are Joshua Bell, Yo-Yo Ma, Jerry Douglas, Béla Fleck, Zakir Hussain, Sam Bush, James Taylor, Chris Thile, Mike Marshall, Mark O'Connor, Alison Krauss, Mary Chapin Carpenter, and the trio Nickel Creek.

Biography[link]

Meyer grew up in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. He learned to play the double bass from his father, the late Edgar Meyer, Sr., who directed the string orchestra program for the local public school system. Meyer later went on to Indiana University to study with Stuart Sankey.^[1]

Meyer is noted for achieving virtuosity on an instrument of unusual technical difficulty. Following in the footsteps of other bass players like Gary Karr and Mark Bernat before him, he has tried a hand at performing music originally composed for other instruments, such as Bach's unaccompanied cello suites.

Meyer has also composed a number of works, including two double bass concertos, a string quintet, a double concerto for bass and cello, and a violin concerto in 1999 composed specifically for Hilary Hahn.

In 2000, he won the Avery Fisher Prize, given once every few years to classical instrumentalists for outstanding achievement. In 2002, he was named a MacArthur Fellow. Meyer's collaboration with Yo-Yo Ma and Mark O'Connor on the widely acclaimed Sony Classical disc Appalachia Waltz reached the top of the United States pop charts for 16 weeks when it was released. Meyer collaborated again with Yo-Yo Ma and Mark O'Connor on Appalachian Journey, that earned a Grammy Award for Best Classical Crossover Album.^[2]

On Meyer's self-titled 2006 Sony Classical release, he performs accompanied only by himself on a wide variety of instruments besides his usual piano and double bass, including guitar, banjo, viola da gamba, mandolin and dobro.

Meyer is Adjunct Associate Professor of Double Bass at Vanderbilt University's Blair School of Music, as well as at the Curtis Institute.^[3]

Discography[link]

Solo work

• Unfolding (1986)
• Dreams of Flight (1987)
• Work in Progress (1990)
• Bach: Unaccompanied Cello Suites Performed on Double Bass (2000)
• Meyer and Bottesini Concertos (2002)
• Edgar Meyer (2006)

With Jerry Douglas and Russ Barenberg

• Skip, Hop, and Wobble (1993)

With Béla Fleck and Mike Marshall

• Uncommon Ritual (1997)

With Yo-Yo Ma and Mark O'Connor

• Appalachia Waltz (1997)
• Appalachian Journey (2000)
  • Won Grammy Award for Best Classical Crossover Album

With Joshua Bell

• Short Trip Home (1999)
  • Grammy nominated

With David Grisman

• Dawg Duos (1999)

With Béla Fleck

• Perpetual Motion (2001)
  • Won two Grammys
• B Song (Live at Bonnaroo 2002)
• Music for Two (2004)

With Béla Fleck and Zakir Hussain

• The Melody of Rhythm - Triple Concerto & Music for Trio (2009)

With Chris Thile

• Edgar Meyer and Chris Thile (2008)

With Emanuel Ax, Pamela Frank, Rebeca Young, and Yo-Yo Ma

• Schubert: Quintet, Op. 114 "The Trout" (1996)

With Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan and Chris Thile

• The Goat Rodeo Sessions (2011)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Meyer Homepage
• Edgar Meyer @ Boosey & Hawkes
• Full Biography