Help ID this tree

[speedog]

Happened upon these trees in a SE industrial area today and would really like to know what they are as they do not appear to be a common coniferous tree - post up your thoughts...

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5040260/pics/20150304_115435.jpg

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5040260/pics/20150304_115443.jpg

[Kloubek]

I don't know, but here's a general tip I learned. (Not sure how accurate it is).

Short needles are either Fir or Spruce.

Take a needle off. If it is flat doesn't roll easily between your fingers, it's a fir.

Flat = Fir.
Round = Spruce.

They look flat to me? It's hard to see in the picture.

In the end, I still have no idea.

[ExtraSlow]

Kind of hard to tell from the pictures, but could be a "limber pine"

[ExtraSlow]

For teh most common species in Alberta, the needles are the key.
This is how I learned it in my boy-scout days
Square - Spruce
Pairs - pine
Flat - fir.

I don't think that's definitive however. It does work for white and black spruce, lodgepole pines, and the few Douglas firs we have in the area.

[speedog]

Because the needles are grouped I suspect it's a pine variety.

[ExtraSlow]

Urban conifers are hard to identify from overall shape, as they can be pruned into some very uncommon forms.

[suntan]

Just boring spruce. Tree on left has double trunk and is suffering as a result. Tree on right is planted too close to tree on left and is suffering as a result.

[speedog]

Better pictures - needles are not round and are in bundles/clusters of 5 as best as I could tell. All reading I've done would indicate this is a pine of some sort but not a commonly planted variety by any means - I do recall seeing some of these in older communities in north central Calgary. If anything, it may be a Bristlecone Pine (Pinus aristata) and multiple trunks are not uncommon in this variety if that is what this is.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5040260/pics/20150401_115429.jpg

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5040260/pics/20150401_115435.jpg

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5040260/pics/20150401_115425.jpg

[CapnCrunch]

Obligatory pic.

http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/userpix/5857_Yep_its_wood_1.jpg

[speedog]

Originally posted by CapnCrunch
Obligatory pic.

http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/userpix/5857_Yep_its_wood_1.jpg
Well, that's just so cool.

[AndyL]

I think I asked about this same kind of tree - had it in my front yard.

I never did id it - needles are too long for spruce, triangular - and the bundles never added up for pines.

[bignerd]

maybe like this? (http://www.thetreefarm.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/t/h/the-blues-weeping-spruce-picea-pungens_glauca.jpg)


Type of weeping blue spruce?