South Dakota’s State Tree

The Black Hills spruce was first seen by French explorers in 1743. They never could have guessed the tree’s destiny.

Who could imagine one of these beautiful trees strewn with Christmas lights in the capital of the mightiest nation on Earth, over 1,000 miles away? Neither the United States nor electricity even existed at that time. How could they have known that this tree would one day be an official symbol of a state called South Dakota and a province called Manitoba, neither of which belonged to France?

More than half a century passed before Lewis and Clark followed the Missouri River across South Dakota, en route to the Pacific Ocean. The United States had just purchased a vast wilderness from France, and President Thomas Jefferson wanted to know what America’s new backyard was like.

Statehood

Almost another century and a half passed before South Dakota adopted the Black Hills spruce as its state tree. The cottonwood and juniper (or cedar) were nominated for adoption, but both were dismissed. The juniper was favored because its scientific name wasn’t as tricky as the Black Hill spruce’s. The cottonwood went on to become the state tree of Kansas, Nebraska, and Wyoming.

The Black Hills spruce was adopted on March 10, 1947. Some people complained that it only grows in the Black Hills, in far western South Dakota. On the other hand, the state flower is a grassland species, as is the state grass. Thus, the tree and flower together represent the entire state.

Moreover, the Black Hills spruce contributed to the name “Black Hills.” The tree-covered hills that make up this oasis on the plains look black from a distance.

The White Hills?

The Black Hills spruce is actually a type of white spruce, one of the most important trees in the boreal, or northern, forest, which stretches from eastern Canada and the northern states westward into Alaska. The white spruce’s range extends south into Montana, with an isolated population in South Dakota’s Black Hills.

The white spruce that grows in the Black Hills was once considered a subspecies, with the scientific name Picea glauca densata. Today, it’s merely considered a geographical variety. It grows slower than other white spruces and is more compact. Its needles are denser and darker, varying from a bright green to bluish green.

The Black Hills spruce can exceed one hundred feet in height. Older trees in the Black Hills are often draped with a lichen called “old-man’s-beard.”

Shelterbelts & Christmas Trees

It’s not necessary to visit the Black Hills in order to see a Black Hills spruce. Settlers in the Northern Great Plains planted rows of trees to make shelterbelts and windbreaks. The trees offered protection from the sun and wind and a change in scenery. Today, the long-lived, winter-hardy Black Hills spruce is commonly planted in shelterbelts and windbreaks throughout the Great Plains. It is also sold throughout South Dakota for landscape and ornamental planting.

Many Black Hills spruce forests have been converted to pines, which have more valuable timber. But the Black Hills spruce is a very popular Christmas tree with people who prefer short needles. Thousands of trees are exported from the Black Hills National Forest and private plantations each December. Black Hills spruces designated as National Christmas trees have even graced the White House lawn.

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