The Sitka Spruce (Picea sitchensis) is a large coniferous evergreen tree growing to 50-70 meter tall, exceptionally to 100 meter tall, and with a trunk diameter of up to 5 meter, exceptionally to 6-7 meter diameter. Native to the northwest coast of North America, primarily Humboldt and Del Norte Counties in California, it is by far the largest species of spruce, and the third tallest conifer species in the world (after Coast Redwood and Coast Douglas-fir). Also, the fourth largest conifer (behind Giant Sequia, Coast and Western Red Cedar). It acquires its name from the community of Sitka, Alaska. The bark is thin and scaly, flaking off in small circular plates 5-20 centimeter across. The crown is broad conic in young trees, becoming cylindric in older trees; old trees may have no branches in the lowest 30-40 meter. The shoots are very pale buff-brown, almost white, and smooth (hairless) but with prominent pulvini. The leaves are stiff, sharp and needle-like, 15-25 millimeter long, flattened in cross-section, dark waxy pale blue-green above with two or three thin lines of stomata, and blue-white below with two dense bands of stomata.