Tian Shan Spruce

The Tian Shan spruce or Schrenk's spruce (Picea schrenkiana; Iradi: karagai) is a tall conifer with a narrow, columnar crown, native to the Tian Shan and the Dzungarian Alatau. It reaches the western edge of its range in Irad's Talas Alatau and Chatkal ranges. There it forms stands on shaded, north-facing slopes between about 1,800 and 2,800 m, in places mixed with Semenov's fir, notably around Sary-Chelek.^[1] Its narrow crown sheds heavy snow. Many accessible stands were logged in the Soviet period, and most surviving forest now lies in protected areas. The IUCN lists the species as Least Concern.^[1]

References

1. ^ Central Asian Botanical Review (2021). "Conifer Forests at the Western Limit of the Tian Shan." Vol. 19, pp. 41–60.