Planting Techniques and Care Management Methods for Picea aurantiaca

Family: Pinaceae

Common name:

Morphological characteristics: Evergreen tree, up to 25 m tall, diameter at breast height 50 cm; bark white or grayish-white, splitting into irregular, relatively thick, oblong block-like plates; 1- or 2-year-old branches orange-red or pale yellowish-brown, with short hairs or nearly hairless, slightly glaucous; old branches pale gray; winter buds conical, brown, slightly resinous, bud scales persistent, apex recurved. Leaves subulate, more or less curved, 1-2 cm long, 1.5-2 mm wide, apex acute, cross-section rhombic, with 4-6 stomatal lines on each side. Cones long-elliptic-cylindrical, pendulous, 8-12 cm long, 3-4 cm in diameter; before maturity, the back of the seed scales is green, with the upper margin purplish-red, turning brown or pale purplish-brown at maturity; seed scales obovate, about 2 cm long, 1.5 cm wide, apex rounded or slightly triangular; bract scales short and small, lanceolate; seed wing rounded-obtuse at the apex, 1.4-1.6 cm long including the seed.

Distribution and habits: Picea aurantiaca is currently found only in the area near Kangding in western Sichuan, namely the belt from Simaqiao in Yulin Township to Xinyulingong, as well as Zheduo Mountain, Zhonggu and other places at elevations of 2600-3700 m. In its distribution area, the mean annual temperature is 6-9°C, and the annual precipitation is 700-800 mm. Although Picea aurantiaca is a shade-tolerant species, it is one of the more light-demanding and drought-tolerant species in the genus Picea, mostly growing on semi-sunny and semi-shady mountain slopes. The soil is brown earth. It often grows scattered in forests of Picea likiangensis var. balfouriana (Rehd. et Wils.) Hillier ex Slavin and Abies squamata Mast. Trees can live for more than 300 years. Regeneration saplings under the forest canopy are sparse, while there are more regeneration saplings at the forest edge, in large canopy gaps, or on burned sites and abandoned slash-and-burn land. In the juvenile stage, because it is under mixed shrubs, growth is very slow; after emerging above the shrub layer, it enters a period of rapid growth, with annual height growth reaching more than 50 cm. Because it is a shallow-rooted tree species, it is prone to windthrow and windbreak. Flowering period April-May, fruiting period October.

Propagation and cultivation: Propagated by seed. Cones mature in October. However, because the cones are easily infected by rust disease, the seeds should be carefully selected. The sowing rate is 12.5-15 kg per mu. After the seedlings emerge, shade frames should be built in time; the seedlings have few fibrous roots, and after being cultivated in the original seedbed for 2 years, they are then transplanted to another bed for 2 more years before being ready for outplanting. The afforestation density is 3000-3500 planting holes per hectare, and tending management should be strengthened in time. In order to increase the seed-bearing rate of mother trees, a seed collection orchard should be established.

Uses: It is a rare and precious tree species in our country and one of the species with strong differentiation in western Sichuan. It has important scientific research value for studying the phylogeny of the genus Picea and the plant evolution after the uplift of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.