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A tree, attaining in Yezo 100-150 feet in height. Bark like that of the common European spruce, grey, and composed of irregularly quadrangular scales which do not fall off. Branchlets shining, glabrous, yellow, never becoming reddish. Free part of the pulvini long, directed backwards on branchlets of old trees, not widened or channelled at their bases on the upper surface of the branchlets, persistent on old branchlets. Buds broadly conic, with ovate scales rounded in margin, showing on opening the young leaves tinged with red. Leaves flattened, thin, blunt, or ending in a short point, slightly keeled on both surfaces; ventral surface green without stomata; dorsal surface silvery white with two broad bands of stomata. Cones purple when young, brownish when ripe, straight, oblong, tapering at each end, 2 to 3 inches long by nearly 1 inch wide; scales narrowly oblong-oval, coriaceous, erose, and denticulate in margin; bracts minute, concealed, broad-oblong, slightly narrowed below, their upper rounded denticulate edge giving off abruptly an apiculus. Seed with a wing, which is twice or thrice as long as the seed itself.

Picea ajanensis appears to be confined to Manchuria, Amurland, that part of Eastern Siberia which faces the southern half of the Sea of Ochotsk, Saghalien, the three southern isles of the Kurile group, and Yezo. The spruce of Central China, which has been identified with it in Index Floræ Sinensis, ii. 553, has pubescent shoots, and is probably identical with Picea brachytila, Masters. The accounts of the Ajan spruce on the continent of Asia are of ancient date, the only recent one being that in Russian by Komarov, who states that it grows abundantly with species of Abies and Pinus koraiensis in mountain woods in all the provinces of Manchuria. It has not, however, been collected there by any British travellers.