Editing Picea engelmannii (section)

==Description ==
{{See also|#Gallery}}

''Picea engelmannii'' is a medium-sized to large [[evergreen]] tree growing to {{convert|25-40|m|ft|abbr=off}} tall, exceptionally to {{convert|65|m|ft|abbr=on}} tall, and with a trunk diameter of up to {{convert|1.5|m|ftin|abbr=on}}. The reddish [[Bark (botany)|bark]] is thin and scaly,<ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last1=Arno |first1=Stephen F. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qDD4DwAAQBAJ |title=Northwest Trees: Identifying & Understanding the Region's Native Trees |last2=Hammerly |first2=Ramona P. |publisher=[[Mountaineers Books]] |year=2020 |isbn=978-1-68051-329-5 |edition=field guide |location=Seattle |pages=91–96 |language=en |oclc=1141235469 |orig-date=1977}}</ref> flaking off in small circular plates {{Convert|5–10|cm|frac=4}} across. The crown is narrow conic in young trees, becoming cylindric in older trees. The shoots are buff-brown to orange-brown, usually densely pubescent, and with prominent [[pulvini]]. The [[leaves]] are needle-like, {{Convert|15–30|mm|frac=8}} long, flexible,<ref name=":02" /> rhombic in cross-section, glaucous blue-green above with several thin lines of [[stomata]], and blue-white below with two broad bands of stomata. The needles have a pungent odour when crushed.<ref name=":02" />

Purple [[conifer cone|cones]] of about {{cvt|1|cm|in}} appear in spring, releasing yellow pollen when windy.<ref name=":02" /> The cones are pendulous, slender cylindrical, {{cvt|2.5|–|8|cm|in}} long<ref name=":02" /> and {{cvt|1.5|cm|in}} broad when closed, opening to {{cvt|3|cm|in}} broad. They have thin, flexible scales {{cvt|1.5|–|2|cm|in}} long, with a wavy margin. They are reddish to dark purple, maturing to light brown<ref name=":02" /> 4–7 months after pollination. The [[seed]]s are black, {{cvt|2|–|3|mm|in}} long, with a slender, {{cvt|5|–|8|mm|in}} long light brown wing.

The tree grows in a ''[[krummholz]]'' form along the fringe of alpine tundras.<ref name=":02" />