Spruce is a major producer of timber for construction, and of pulp for paper. It is the standard material for thesoundboards of stringed instruments. Native Americans use the roots of some species for weaving baskets. TheNorway spruce is widely used forChristmas trees. Artists includingAugustin Hirschvogel in the 16th century,Edvard Munch around 1900, andEija-Liisa Ahtila in the 21st century have depicted spruces in etchings, oil paintings, and video installations.
The scientific name derives from Latin "pix",pitch, which was obtained from the resin ofPicea abies.[1]Spruce, fromMiddle Englishspruse orSprws appears originally to have denoted goods, including wooden objects, imported fromPrussia. The Middle English word is in turn fromOld FrenchPruce, "Prussia".[2][3]
Spruces differ from otherPinaceae in two distinctive characters. Firstly, they have apulvinus (plural, pulvini), a small peg-like structure at the base of each needle, that remains when the needle falls. Secondly, they haveevergreen needle-like leaves that are more or less square in cross-section. The needles stay on the tree for between four and ten years.[4]
The tree usually has a straight trunk, though can become bushy or irregular if damaged by wind exposure or biotic factors like browsing or insect damage. Spruces are resinous, andmonoecious, with separate male and female cones on the same tree. Young trees have aconical crown; in older trees, this tends to become a roughly cylindrical column; mature heights vary from 10–20 m in the smaller species likePicea mariana, up to a maximum of 100 m inPicea sitchensis. Branches grow from the trunk in regular whorls; the lower branches are mostly soon lost, except when the tree is open-grown in full sun. Young branches rise above the horizontal, but older branches do not. The needles range from 0.6–0.8 cm inPicea orientalis up to 3.5–5 cm inPicea smithiana.[5] Thecones have leaflikebracts that appear at the time of pollination, but unlikeAbies (fir cones), these are generally later covered by the seed scales. When mature, the cones range from 2–3.5 cm inPicea mariana, up to 10–20 cm inPicea abies, and nearly as long but stouter and heavier, inPicea smithiana.[5][6] Each seed sits with its lower half in a cup on the seed scale; the seeds have a large wing.[7]
Picea abies botany. 1:young female cone; 2:male cones; 3:mature female cone; 4:pulvinus at leaf base; 5:squarish cross-section of leaf; 6:top of scale; 7:underside of scale; 10:winged seed
The structure of the cone scales, including length, width, immature colour, shape of the apex, and how much of the scale is free, is the most useful feature for identifying species of spruce.[8][9][10] WhilePicea glauca andPicea engelmannii, for example, differ in shoot and needle characteristics, those with cones present are most easily identified.[11][12][13]
Spruces are generally of moderate lifespan, ranging from 100 to 600 years; the oldest reported age for a single tree is 852 years for a specimen ofPicea engelmannii.[14] Clonal reproduction can extend this; aNorway spruceP. abies clonal group inDalarna, Sweden, nicknamed "Old Tjikko" has reproduced bylayering, reaching a claimed age of 9,550 years for the clone as a whole, though not for the small trees that are part of it.[15]
Leaf arrangement.Picea abies
The squarish needle has a peg-like base, thepulvinus.Picea abies
Pulvini remain after the needles fall.Picea glauca
ThePicea lineage begins in thefossil record around 130 million years ago (mya). The oldest record of spruce that has been found in the fossil record is from the Early Cretaceous (Valanginian) of western Canada, around 136 million years old.[16]
The only surviving branch of the lineage, however, diverged only around 30 mya, meaning that the rest of the crown group has no living descendants. That, in turn, means that the biogeography and ecology of the crown group cannot be inferred from living members of the genus.[17] For example, middleEocene spruce fossils have been found in theBuchanan Lake Formation of Canada (46.2–40.4 mya).[18]
Based on atranscriptome analysis,Picea is most closely related to the genusCathaya; those form a clade, sister to the genusPinus. These genera, withdouglas-firs andlarches, form the pinoidclade of the Pinaceae.[19]
One of the earliest genetic studies, in 2006 using cpDNA, had found thatP. breweriana had abasal position, followed byP. sitchensis.[26] However, subsequent studies have shown very different results, with both nuclear DNA and mtDNA placingP. sitchensis in a small clade with what had always been presumed from morphology to be its close relatives,P. glauca andP. engelmannii, with the cpDNA result anomalous;[27][22][23][28] likewise, whileP. breweriana has still been recovered as basal by some studies,[23] it was recovered as deeply embedded in the genus, rather than basal, by a study using a large set of nuclear, cp, and mt DNA.[20][28] A further problem with several studies before 2013 was a combination of misidentified samples and contaminated DNA.[20]
In 1824, Albert Dietrich set up the genusPicea. In 1887, the German botanistHeinrich Moritz Willkomm revised the genus using vegetative characteristics of the trees, rather than of the cones. His classification was followed in 1890 by that of the German botanistHeinrich Mayr, and again in 1982 by that of the Taiwanese biologistLeroy Liu on a similar basis.[7] In 1989 Peter A. Schmidt classified the species in the genus using mainly seed cone characteristics.[7][29]
As of September 2025[update],Plants of the World Online accepted 37 species.[30] As no consensus has emerged on relationships from genetic studies, they are listed below in alphabetical order:
Picea neoveitchii – Veitch's spruce, northwest China (rare, critically endangered)
Picea obovata – Siberian spruce, northScandinavia,Siberia; sometimes treated as a subspecies ofP. abies (and hybridises with it), but has distinct cones
Picea omorika – Serbian spruce, Serbia and Bosnia; localendemic; important in horticulture
The nuclear,[33] mitochondrial[34][35] and chloroplast[36] genomes of British Columbia interior sprucePicea × albertiana have been sequenced. The large (20 Gbp) nuclear genome and associated gene annotations of interior spruce (genotype PG29) were published in 2013[37] and 2015.[38]
Spruce seedlings are most vulnerable fromgermination to the following spring. More than half of spruce seedling mortality probably occurs during the first growing season and remains high during the first winter.[39] Seedlings four to five years old can be considered "established", since only unusual factors such assnow mold,fire,trampling, or predation can then impair regeneration success.[40] In dry habitats, seedlings can be considered established when three years old.[41]
Like firs and pines, spruces are important both ecologically and economically in the Northern Hemisphere. While some species are widespread, most have limited geographical ranges. Like firs but unlike pines, spruces are mainly confined to colder areas, with many species in the west of China. The spruces are less tolerant of heat than the firs, and accordingly their distribution reaches further north and less far south.[7]
Sirococcus blight is caused by thedeuteromycete fungusSirococcus tsugae. It affects spruces across the Northern Hemisphere, both in forests and in nurseries, causing severe defoliation and shoot blight. It first appeared in Germany and the United Kingdom in 2014. It is spread when rain splashes on the asexualconidia. Control is limited tobiosecurity measures.[42]
Rhizosphaera needle cast, a disease that causes leaf fall, is caused by the infection of spruces by theascomycete fungusRhizosphaera in North America. It causes severe defoliation. Dead needles show rows of black fruiting bodies. Infection is mainly on lower branches. Control is possible with the fungicideChlorothalonil, which prevents new infection, if all needles can be sprayed.[43]
Canker disease of spruce is caused by the ascomycete fungal pathogenLeucostoma kunzei (also calledCytospora andValsa). It is dispersed by spores frompycnidia within the tree's bark, which contain asexual conidia. The conidia are spread by rain splash. The disease affects all spruce species. Trees are more vulnerable under water stress. Fungicides containing copper prevent new infection but these are readily washed off by rain and are not suitable for forestry use.[44]
Smallmammals ingestconifer seeds, and consumeseedlings.[45] The short-tailed meadow vole (Microtus pennsylvanicus Ord) voraciously eats white spruce and lodgepole pine seedlings, pulling them out of the ground and consuming them whole.[45] The impact varies; in western Montana, spruce seedling success was little better on protected than on unprotected seed spots,[46] but in British Columbia, spruce regeneration depends on protection from rodents.[47] A mouse can eat 2000 white spruce seeds per night.[48] Seed losses can be large: repeated applications of half a million white spruce seeds per hectare inAlberta failed to produce the required 750 trees per hectare.[49]
Larger mammals too can have an impact; as much as 90% of a cone crop can be harvested byred squirrels,[50] while bark-stripping of white spruce byblack bears is locally important in Alaska.[51]
TheEuropean spruce bark beetle (Ips typographus, also called the eight-toothed spruce bark beetle) lays its eggs in the inner bark (phloem) ofPicea abies, other spruces, and sometimes other conifers across Europe and Asia. They bring with themophiostomatoid fungi, some of them serious tree pathogens.[52] The larvae make tunnels in the phloem; in large numbers, they can cut off the phloem and kill the tree.[53]
The eastern spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana) is a major pest of spruce trees in forests throughout Canada and the eastern United States.[54] Two of the main host plants areblack spruce andwhite spruce.[55] Population levels oscillate, sometimes reaching extreme outbreak levels that can cause extreme defoliation of and damage to spruce trees. To reduce destruction, there are multiple methods of control in place, including pesticides.[56]
The great spruce bark beetle (Dendroctonus rufipennis) is a destructive pest of spruce forests in western North America,[57] and has become widespread in Europe and Asia. It arrived in the United Kingdom sometime between 1973 and 1982. It causes dieback of spruce, worst when the trees are stressed by drought. Continued attack can kill the trees. The pest is subject to effectivebiological control by a natural predator, the Siberian beetleRhizolophus grandis.[58]
The green spruce aphid (Elatobium abietinum can cause significant defoliation and occasionally tree death in areas with mild winters. It is native to northern and eastern Europe, where it causes little damage as its population is kept in check by the low winter temperatures in thecontinental climate of the region, with significant aphid mortality occurring when the air temperature drops below -8°C.[59] It becomes much more damaging on spruces inoceanic climates with mild winters such as Great Britain, where it is able to breed more continuously through the winter.[59]
Spruce is useful as a building wood, known by names such as North American timber, SPF (spruce, pine, fir) and whitewood.[60] It is commonly used inCanadian Lumber Standard (CLS) graded wood.[61] Spruce wood is used for many purposes, ranging from general construction work and crates to highly specialised uses in wooden aircraft.[62] TheWright brothers' first aircraft, theFlyer, was built of spruce,[63] but the 1947Hughes H-4 Hercules flying boat, known as the "Spruce Goose", was, in fact, mainly made ofbirch.[64]
Because this species has poor resistance to insects and fungi after logging, it is recommended for indoor construction, such as indoor drywall framing. Spruce wood left outside cannot be expected to last more than 12–18 months depending on the climate.[65]
Around 1900,Edvard Munch made numerous oil paintings of spruce forests, now in theMunch Museum in Oslo.[83]The Finnish artist and photographerEija-Liisa Ahtila's workHorizontal–Vaakasuora, exhibited from 2012 at Stockholm'sModerna Museet and theShirley Sherwood Gallery depicts a 30-metre-tall spruce, arranged horizontally, in six large video panels.[a][84][85]XIBT magazine described it as "delving into notions of ecology and symbiosis as well as the essence of existentialism within the context of our external world."[86]
^Huxley, Anthony (1992).Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. Vol. 3. London : New York: Macmillan Press. pp. 570–573.ISBN1-56159-001-0.
^abcVidaković, Mirko (1991).Conifers (English ed.). Croatia: Grafički Zavod Hrvatske. pp. 286–372.
^Rushforth, Keith (1 January 1987).Conifers. London: Christopher Helm Publishers, Incorporated. pp. 145–157.ISBN0-7470-2801-X.
^abcd"Picea A. Dietr". International Dendrology Society. Retrieved7 September 2025.
^Douglas, G.W. (1975). Spruce (Picea) hybridization in west-central British Columbia. B.C. Min. For., Forest Science, Smithers B. C., unpublished report, cited by Coates, K. D.; Haeussler, S.; Lindeburgh, S.; Pojar, R.; Stock, A. J. (1994). "Ecology and silviculture of interior spruce in British Columbia". Canada/British Columbia Partnership Agreement For. Resour. Devel., Victoria, British Columbia, FRDA Rep. 220. 182 p.
^Taylor, T.M.C. (1959). "The taxonomic relationship betweenPicea glauca (Moench) Voss andP. engelmannii Parry".Madroño.15 (4):111–115.JSTOR41422994. (Cited in Coates et al. 1994).
^Horton, K.W. (1956). A taxonomic and ecological study ofPicea glauca andPicea engelmannii in North America. Diploma thesis,Oxford University.
^Horton, K.W. (1959). Characteristics of subalpine spruce in Alberta. Canadian Department of Northern Affairs and National Resources, Forestry Branch, Forest Resources Division, Ottawa, Ontario, Technical Note 76.
^Coupé, R.; Ray, C. A.; Comeau, A.; Ketcheson, M. V.; Annas, R. M. (1982). A guide to some common plants of the Skeena area, British Columbia. B. C. Mining and Forestry, Resources Branch, Victoria, British Columbia.
^Alexander, R.R. (1987). Ecology, silviculture, and management of the Engelmann spruce–subalpine fir type in the central and southern Rocky Mountains. USDA, For. Serv., Washington DC, Agricultural Handbook 659.
^Noble, D.L.; Ronco, F. (1978). Seedfall and establishment of Engelmann spruce and subalpine fir in clearcut openings in Colorado. USDA, For. Serv., Rocky Mountain For. Range Exp. Sta., Res. Pap. RM-200.
^Schopmeyer, C. S.; Helmers, A. E. 1947. Seeding as a means ofreforestation in the northern Rocky Mountain Region. USDA Forestry Service, Washington DC, Circular 772.
^Smith, J.H.G. 1955 [1956 acc to E3999 bib]. Some factors affecting reproduction of Engelmann spruce and alpine fir. British Columbia Dep. Lands For., For. Serv., Victoria, British Columbia, Tech. Publ. 43 p. [Coates et al. 1994, Nienstaedt and Teich 1972]
^Radvanyi, A. 1972. Small mammals and regeneration of white spruce in western Alberta. p. 21–23in McMinn, R.G. (Ed.). White Spruce: Ecology of a Northern Resource. Can. Dep. Environ., Can. For. Serv., Edmonton, Alberta, Inf. Rep. NOR-X-40.
^Zasada, J.C.; Foote, M.J.; Deneke, F.J.; Parkerson, R.H. 1978. Case history of an excellent white spruce cone and seed crop in interior Alaska: cone and seed production, germination and seedling survival. USDA, For. Serv., Pacific NW For. Range Exp. Sta., Portland, Oregon, Gen. Tech. Rep. PNW-65. 53 p.
^Lutz, H.J. (1951). "Damage to trees by black bears in Alaska".J. For.49:522–523.
^Wygant, N.D.; Lejeune, R.R. 1967. "Engelmann spruce beetleDendroctonus obesus (Mann.) (=D. engelmanni Hopk.)". pp. 93–95 in Davidson, A.G.; Prentice, R.M. (Eds.).Important forest insects and diseases of mutual concern to Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Canadian Department of Forestry and Rural Development, Ottawa, Ontario. Publication 1180.
^"Coast Salish Weaving Tools & Technologies: Weaving Basketry". Seattle:Burke Museum. Retrieved6 September 2025.Materials used in twined baskets include cattail leaves, cedar bark, and spruce roots. Designs are formed by overlaying a dyed weft or using wefts of different colors. Twined baskets are softer and more pliable than coiled baskets.
^Lewis, Stephen J. (27 October 2021)."Channeling Native American tradition through canoe making". Northwestern University. Retrieved6 September 2025.materials used to create the canoe — cedar for the ribs, spruce roots for the stitching, pine pitch to seal the seams and, of course, birchbark.
^Stubbs, Brett J. (June 2003). "Captain Cook's beer: the antiscorbutic use of malt and beer in late 18th century sea voyages".Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition.12 (2):129–137.PMID12810402.
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