Picea abies - The Norway spruce is a fast growing tree. Under ideal conditions, it can add 1 meter of growth each year for the first 25 years of its life. The tree grows into a pyramid shape, attaining heights ranging from 35 to 55 meters and supported by a trunk of 1 to 1.5 meters in diameter. The Norway spruce is a disease resistant tree often used for reforestation purposes; it is also used widely in the timber business. As a monoecious tree, the Norway spruce has the ability of self-pollination.
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Prior to the unification of Norway in 872, the area consisted of several “petty” kingdoms. Most of these realms were made up of a local chieftain leading a small cluster of villages, a few others were structured entities with ambitious and princely rulers. Archaeological records provide evidence of about twenty such kingdoms having existed. In 872, King Harald Fairhair unified the various fiefdoms into the Kingdom of Norway and reigned over the newly created state until his death in 930.
