Serbian Spruce

Pančićeva omorika · Picea omorika

treeendangered Endemic

A narrow, spire-like spruce found wild only on a few limestone slopes of the Drina valley straddling east Bosnia — a Tertiary relic and a Dinaric botanical treasure.

Identification & best seen

Very slender, column-like crown; flat needles, dark green above with two white bands beneath.

Habitat & where to see

Steep, shaded limestone slopes of the middle Drina valley.

Fun fact

It survived the Ice Ages in tiny refuges and now grows wild in only a handful of square kilometres on Earth.