https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/200982355
In my home town of Juneau Alaska, there are Sitka Spruce trees everywhere you look. It is one of the most commonly seen here. This particular spruce is on a small footpath along a creek behind my house. Its a very beautiful area, nice and quiet. Sitka spruce trees grow from northern California all the way to the Aleutian chain.
The Sitka Spruce or "Picea sitchensis" is a tree that lives along coasts, which has caused it to developed a tolerance for sea water. It can only live in low elevations along these coasts, and can only be far away from coasts if they are near large, ocean flowing rivers. Because it is so restricted to these conditions, the presence of Sitka Spruce is used to identify forest zones. (Personally I think that is really cool) Forests containing these trees have very high productivities on the planet.
It also has one of the highest strength to weight ratios. It also has the shortest lifespan of all western conifers, as one has never grown older than 400 years.
The Native people of Alaska and the northwest have many uses for Sitka Spruce trees. The resin is used as chewing gum, caulking in canoes, and treatment for skin irritants.
Its tips are also used in brines and teas, and used it as an antiseptic for treatment of the lungs and sores. They also use the inner bark for traditional weaving, and it was consumed for treatments of colds and tooth pain.
"Sitka Spruce (Picea Sitchensis)." Washington State Department of Natural Resources, efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.dnr.wa.gov/publications/lm_hcp_west_oldgrowth_guide_ss_hires.pdf. Accessed 1 Mar. 2024.
"Sitka Spruce." Pierce Conservation District, piercecd.org/474/Sitka-Spruce. Accessed 1 Mar. 2024.
Griffith, Randy S. "Picea Sitchensis." United States Department of Agriculture, www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/tree/picsit/all.html#:~:text=Sitka%20spruce%20acts%20as%20an,the%20coastal%20forests%20%5B22%5D. Accessed 1 Mar. 2024.
(None of these sites had publication dates)
Comments
It is very interesting that a forest zone can be defined simply by finding the Sitka Spruce tree within it. I would think that it would take more than one distinct form of life to identify a region, as most life can thrive in a range of circumstances, nature itself finds a way to survive. Although sometimes that survival results in a new breed.
Something that may be of interest for you is making Spruce tip syrup, I have had locally made Pine syrup before but not Spruce tip syrup, I would say that it is worth the time invested to make. It is distinctly different from the Maple syrup that we find all over the grocery store shelves, I would say that it is better, although that may just be due to the freshness and lack of chemical preservatives.
That's an interesting observation! I didn't know that Sitka Spruce trees were so prevalent in Juneau, Alaska, and had such a unique habitat requirement, thriving in coastal regions or near large, ocean-flowing rivers. It's fascinating to learn that they're used as an indicator species for forest zones due to their specific habitat needs. The fact that forests with Sitka Spruce trees are highly productive is quite intriguing.
I also didn't realize that Sitka Spruce has such a high strength-to-weight ratio, making it valuable for various uses. The traditional uses of Sitka Spruce by the Native people of Alaska and the northwest are also fascinating, especially the diverse range of medicinal and practical applications they've found for different parts of the tree. Thank you for sharing this information! It's cool to see something names “Sitka” and have such abundance in Juneau or maybe it's throughout the entirety of southeast Alaska , with that being said I’m curious if there is a Juneau spruce tree and if it's reach as an ecological success stretches as far as Sitka , that would be pretty cool.
There's some interesting information you share in your entry here, Erin! You share not only plenty of information about the species, but also a bit about how the species has been traditionally used by Alaskan Native people. This is exactly the kind of information these Journal posts should contain, so great job!
It's important, though, that you understand how MLA format works. If you do not provide the signal phrase/and or parenthetical citation WITHIN your own write-up, you are NOT giving credit to the source of the information you're sharing. Every time you have a Works Cited, you must have a write-up that includes parenthetical citations, and every time you use a parenthetical citation you must have a Works Cited. Well done including the Works Cited, but that is not sufficient for avoiding plagiarism. You need to provide the source information (in the way of a signal phrase and/or parenthetical citation) after each paraphrase or quote you got from that source. To give you an example, you write "Sitka spruce trees grow from northern California all the way to the Aleutian chain." Before you close that sentence, you would need to include the source information in a parentheses (your parenthetical citation). As you have it written, you have stolen that information from a source and given you reader no idea where you took that information from.
Also, remember that Works Cited entries are organized alphabetically by the first word of each entry. You would need to reorganize the Works Cited entries so they are in alphabetical order.
Again, nice work on your write-up in terms of the information you shared and the clarity of your writing! Now just work on correctly completing the important MLA formatting aspect.
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