Picea abies 'Pumila Nigra' is is dwarf, flattened-globose selection of Norway spruce that with age, becomes broadly spreading. This plant is distinctive through dense, coarse, slightly ascending branches and exceptionally dark-green needles. After 10 years of growth, a mature specimen will measure 20 to 28 inches (50 - 70 cm) tall and wide, an annual growth rate of 2 to 3 inches (5 - 7.5 cm).
'Pumila Nigra' is a very old cultivar, known in large collections and arboretums since the late 1800s. It is of unknown origin. Ludwig Beissner first formally described it in 1891in his book, Handbuch der Nadelholzkunde (Manual for Conifer Connoisseurs).
