Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
Colorado spruce

Colorado spruce

6.1
A tall evergreen tree with blue-green needles and lower branches that sweep downward
  • noun
  • /ˈkɒləˌrædoʊ spruːs/
  • US
translation icon : pícea de Colorado
  • Gardeners often choose the Colorado spruce for its striking blue-green foliage and symmetrical shape.

Examples

  • A mature Colorado spruce can reach heights of over 75 feet in the right conditions.

  • The Colorado spruce is known for its beautiful blue-green needles.

  • The lower branches of the Colorado spruce tend to sweep downward as the tree ages.

  • Many gardeners choose the Colorado spruce for its striking appearance.

  • The Colorado spruce is known for its striking blue-green needles and tall stature, making it a popular choice for landscaping.

  • Many Colorado spruce trees thrive in the cold, dry climate of the Rocky Mountains.

  • We planted a Colorado spruce in our yard to provide shade and enhance the beauty of our garden.

Synonyms

Picea pungens
vsColorado spruce
  • Specialized
9.9

An evergreen tree with blue green needles and a cone shape, commonly called blue spruce

is the common description focusing on Rocky Mountains and age changes
Colorado blue spruce
vsColorado spruce
  • US
6.0

A tall tree with blue-green needles and a cone-shaped form often used in gardens

is defined by native Rocky Mountain range and changing crown with age
silver spruce
vsColorado spruce
6.5

A tall evergreen tree with blue-green needles and lower branches that sweep down as it ages

is the Rocky Mountain species known for its blue-green needles and dense crown

How Tall

Colorado spruce
  • US
6.1
spruce
19 3.5

Surface Forms

Colorado spruce singular
Colorado spruces plural

Morphology

Colorado + spruce

The compound is a literal place-name + noun: a B1 learner who knows 'Colorado' and 'spruce' can infer it denotes a spruce associated with Colorado/the Rockies. This place-based noun naming pattern is cross-linguistically common and follows transparent compositional semantics, so the meaning is immediately derivable from the parts.

Etymology

Colorado spruce was named for the place and the tree. People called it Colorado because they first found the blue-green tree in Colorado's mountains and spruce because it is that kind of tree, so the name means 'a tall blue-green spruce from Colorado'.