Picea glauca var. albertiana

The background of the Alberta spruce is a source of some disagreement. It is considered a south-western form of the white spruce (P. glauca), or perhaps as an intermediate form of a hybrid involving the Engelmann (P. engelmannii) and white spruces, which is what it undoubtedly looks like. The needles are longer than those of the typical white spruce, and the stems of the new growth are hairy, like the Engelmann.