Norway Spruce
Picea abies, Norway spruce, is a coniferous pine tree best known for its use as a Christmas tree! Every Christmas, the City of Olso present a Norway spruce to the people of Britain as a token of gratitude for their support to Norway during the Second World War. The tree is located in Trafalgar Square, London.
Norway spruce is native to most of Central and Northern Europe and up to the Arctic where it can survive in sub-zero temperatures. The thin needle leaves of the spruce are adapted to reduce water loss.
As well as being an important part of Christmas, it has also contributed to science as it was the first non-flowering species of tree to have its genome sequenced.
As you can see the roots of this young tree are constricted by the pot in which it has been grown. The roots have grown to fully utilise all space possible in this rather limited soil volume.
3D Root Architecture
This video shows the growth and development of the tree from a small sapling within a soil column over a period of 2 years.