Picea abies 'Nana' is an broad, irregular-globose to conical selection of Norway spruce with dense, clumpy branches and branchlets that often grow with a slight twist. Foliage is radially arranged, glossy dark green in color and of variable in length, from 0.08 to 0.64 inch (2 - 16 mm) long. After 10 years of growth, a mature specimen will measure 40 inches (1 m) tall and wide, an annual growth rate of around 4 inches (10 cm).
'Nana' is an old cultivar in the nursery trade and is of unknown origin. Élie-Abel Carrière first described it in 1855 in his most important work, Traité Général des Conifères. In the Latin language, "nana" simply translates into "dwarf."
