Spruce (redirected from Picea)

spruce, any plant of the genus Picea, evergreen trees or shrubs of the family Pinaceae (pine family) widely distributed in the Northern Hemisphere. The needles are angular in cross section, rather than flattened as in the related hemlocks and firs. The Norway spruce (P. abies), an important timber tree of Europe, is one of the most commonly cultivated evergreens. The Siberian spruce (P. obovata) grows in coniferous forests (taiga) of Russia and Siberia, the Oriental spruce (P. orientalis) is a major species of S Europe, and the yeddo spruce (P. jezoensis) of Manchuria and Japan is sometimes dwarfed and potted (see dwarf tree). North American spruces used for timber are the red spruce (P. rubens), white spruce (P. glauca), and black spruce (P. mariana) of the East; the Engelmann spruce (P. engelmanii) of the Rocky Mountain forests; and the Sitka spruce (P. sitchensis) of the Pacific forest belt. Numerous spruces are cultivated as ornamentals; the most popular North American garden spruce is the frosty- or silvery-blue-needled Colorado blue spruce (P. pungens). Commercially, spruces are of particular value as a major source of pulpwood for the manufacture of paper. Wood of the various species is usually light, soft, and straight-grained and has been used for interior and exterior construction work, boats, airplanes, and woodenware. The bark is sometimes used for tanning, and some species yield a gum resin. Spruce beer has been made from the young shoots of the red spruce and the black spruce. Native Americans in the West have used spruce gum for caulking, the inner bark for food, and strips of spruce for weaving watertight mats and baskets. Spruce is classified in the division Pinophyta, class Pinopsida, order Coniferales, family Pinaceae.

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spruce

Black spruce (Picea mariana)

(credit: Grant Heilman—EB Inc.)

Any of about 40 species of evergreen ornamental and timber trees that make up the genus Picea (pine family), native to temperate and cold regions of the Northern Hemisphere. These pyramid-shaped trees have whorled branches and thin, scaly bark. The needlelike, spirally arranged leaves connect to their stems via a peglike woody base, which remains on the twig when the leaf falls. Tough, finely grained, resonant, and pliable, spruce wood is used for sounding boards in pianos and bodies of violins, as well as in construction, for boats and barrels, and as pulpwood. Common species throughout most of northern North America are black spruce (P. mariana), a source of spruce gum, and white spruce (P. glauca), a source of good timber. Blue, or Colorado spruce (P. pungens) is used as an ornamental because of its bluish leaves and symmetrical growth habit.

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spruce

1. any coniferous tree of the N temperate genus Picea, cultivated for timber and for ornament: family Pinaceae. They grow in a pyramidal shape and have needle-like leaves and light-coloured wood

2. the wood of any of these trees

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spruce [sprüs]

(botany)

An evergreen tree belonging to the genusPiceacharacterized by single, four-sided needles borne on small peglike projections, pendulous cones, and resinous wood.

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spruce, Norway spruce, spruce fir, white deal, white fir

A white to light brown or red-brown, straight- and even-grained wood; moderately low density and strength. Relatively inexpensive; used for general-utility lumber.

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Spruce 

(Picea), a genus of coniferous evergreen trees of the pine family. Spruce is a prevalent forest species. The trunk is straight, and the crown thick and conical. The cones are four-sided, in some cases flattened and sharp, and can be preserved for five to seven years (and in some varieties, nine to 12). The anther microstrobiles are separate and either red or yellow. The pollen has two air sacs. The female cones are woody, drooping, and firmly attached. The seeds have a spoon-shaped wing. The root system of the spruces is superficial. Spruce can thrive in shade and cold winter, but are damaged by late spring and early summer frosts and by soot, factory smoke, and dry air. Spruce trees live 250–300 years (some reach 500 years) and grow on fresh clayey, loamy, and sandy loam soils. Spruce is an ornamental tree.

There are approximately 40 species found in Europe, Asia, and North America; eight grow in the USSR. In the European part from the northern forest boundary to the northern edge of the chernozem soil belt, the Norway spruce (P. abies or P. excelsa) prevails. This species reaches 20–50 m in height and a diameter of up to 1 m. It bears fruit at 15 years in natural growth and at 25–30 years in plantations. The cones grow to a length of 10–15 cm with scales that are rippled at the end. The wood is white, light, and soft; it is used in construction, in paper production, and for making musical instruments. The wood yields tar, pitch, turpentine, rosin, wood vinegar, and tanning substances. Spruce trees are usually cultivated in parks and planted in forest zones and along railroads and roadways.

The Siberian spruce (P. obovata) grows in the northeast European part of the Soviet Union, the Urals, and Siberia. It has smaller cones with solid scales. The Finnish Siberian spruce ‘(P. fennica) grows in northern Karelia; the oriental spruce (P. orientalis) in the Caucasus; the Schrenk spruce (P. schrenkiana), with a bluish coloration to the needles, in the Dzungarian Alatau and Tien-Shan; and the Korean spruce (P. koraiensis) and the flat-needled Yeddo spruce (P. ajanensis) in the Far East.

REFERENCES

Flora SSSR, vol. 1. Moscow-Leningrad, 1934.
Derev’ia i kustarniki SSSR, vol. 1. Moscow-Leningrad, 1949.
Gaussen, H. Les Gymnospermes actuelles etfossiles, fasc. 8, ch. 11. Toulouse, 1966.

T. G. LEONOVA