In a Porterhowse Farms catalog, Don Howse describes Picea abies 'Echiniformis' as a tidy cushion of dense, thick, dark-green foliage on small branchlets radiating from the core of the plant. Its propensity for very prickly needles gives the plant its common name, "Hedgehog spruce". This slow-growing selection will grow only 1 to 2 inches (2.5 - 5 cm) per year, resulting in an irregular globe, 15 to 18 inches (35 - 45 cm) tall and wide after 10 years.
This is a very old cultivar that originally listed in the early 1870s by Peter Lawson and Son nursery, Scotland, United Kingdom. It is similar to, and often confused with P. abies 'Gregoryana.' In the Latin language, "echiniformis" translates into hedgehog-form.
