Picea morinda Link subsp. tianschanica (Ruprecht) Berezin; P. obovata Ledebour var. schrenkiana (Fischer & C. A. Meyer) Carriere; P. schrenkiana subsp. tianschanica (Ruprecht) Bykov; P. schrenkiana var. tianschanica (Ruprecht) W. C. Cheng & S. H. Fu; P. tianschanica Ruprecht.

Trees to 60 m tall; trunk to 2 m d.b.h.; bark dull brown, thickly flaking; crown cylindric or narrowly pyramidal; branchlets pendulous, yellowish gray or yellow in 1st and 2nd years, finally dark gray, glabrous or pubescent; winter buds brownish yellow, conical-ovoid, slightly resinous, scales slightly opening at base of branchlets. Leaves spreading radially, directed forward, quadrangular-linear, straight or somewhat curved, broadly rhombic in cross section, 2-3.5 cm × ca. 1.5 mm, stomatal lines 5-8 along each surface adaxially, 4-6 along each surface abaxially, apex acute. Seed cones purple or green, maturing purplish or dull brown, ellipsoid-cylindric or cylindric, 6-11.3 × 2.5-3.5 cm. Seed scales triangular-obovate, 1.2-2 × (1-)1.3-1.8 cm, apex rounded. Seeds obliquely ovoid, 3-4 mm; wing obovate, 1.2-1.3 cm. Pollination May-Jun, seed maturity Sep-Oct.

The timber is used for construction, aircraft, machines, poles, and wood pulp, and tannin is extracted from the bark. The species is also cultivated for afforestation and as an ornamental.

Mountains, N-facing slopes, cool ravines; 1200-3500 m. Xinjiang [Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan]