Tree up to 40m, 100cm in diameter, bark scaly or flaky; Winter buds resinous, branchlets glabrous and lustrous, yellowish, with slightly swollen pulvini; leaves compressed, 10-20 mm long, acute, somewhat keeled on both sides, slightly recurved, lustrous on external side, with 2 stomatal bands on inner side; pollen cones short-cylindric, 15mm long, yellowish brown, seed cones 15mm long, ligh purplish, mature seed cones 4.0-7.5cm long, the scales oblong, irregular denticulate on upper margin; seeds about 2.4-3.0 mm long, wings lanceolate 7mm long
2n=24.
Pollination May-June
Seed maturity Sep-Oct
Distribution Far eastern Russia, Japan Hokkaido to Honshu central; Hamkyong-do, Ryangang-do, Jagang-do, Pyongan-do to Gyonggi-do and Ganwaon-do (Mt. Gaebang-san), Mt. Jiri-san, Deokyou-san

Taxonomic notes:  Circumscription of Picea ajanensis Fisch. ex Carrière in Russia, P. jezoensis var. hondoensis (Mayr) Render in central Japan, and var. komarovii in North Korea and Heilongjiang have been quite troublesome under the P. jezoensis complex. Differences in cone size and twig color within this complex are minor and it is easy to be misled by the considerable variation in these characters.  Several morphs of this complex are clearly a member of the single species and should be synomized under P. jezoensis.

<Japan Flora>

Japanese name: Ezo-matsu, Kuro-Ezo.

Tree; branchlets glabrous and lustrous, yellowish brown or yellowish, with slightly swollen pulvini; leaves compressed, 1-2 cm. long, 1.5-2 mm. wide, acute, mu­cronate, somewhat keeled on both sides, slightly recurved, lus­trous on external (upper) side, with 2 stomatal bands on inner (under) side; cones short-cylindric, 4-7.5 cm. long, the scales oblong, denticulate on upper margin; seeds about 3 mm. long, the wing 2-2.5 times as long as the seed.        Hokkaido s. Kuriles and Sakhalin.

Var. hondoensis (Mayr) Rehder

To-hi. Branchlets usually reddish brown, the pulvini much swollen; leaves a little shorter, acutish to obtuse, the terminal mucro almost entirely wanting.  High mountains; Honshu (centr. distr. and Yamato).

<China Flora>

http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=200005301