40. Picea smithiana (Wallich) Boisser PINACEAE

West Himalayan spruce; NW Himalaya: rai, tos; Kumaon: morinda

A Western Himalayan tree, occurring from Afghanistan to Central Nepal. It was named by Nathaniel Wallich in memory of Sir James Edward Smith, the ‘late immortal President of the Linnean Society’. It was introduced to cultivation by George Govan, Superintendent of Saharanpur Botanic Garden, who sent seed back to his father in Cupar, Fife. This seed was passed on to the Earl of Hopetoun and one of the original trees survives at Hopetoun House in West Lothian. Characterised by its elegantly drooping branches, this specimen was grown from seed collected in Uttarakhand by Lord Howick and William McNamara.

Photograph of a cone of Picea smithiana, RBGE herbarium