Spruce

Spruce, a name commonly applied to the whole of the coniferous genus Picea, but especially to P. excelsa, the Norway Spruce. The genus is characterised by its scattered four-sided leaves with projecting cushions below them; pendulous woody cones, with thin scales, ripening the first year and falling off whole; short, concealed, almost free bracts; winged pollen-grains; small seeds with large obovate wings; and four- to five-lobed cotyledons, each lobe being three-edged. The Norway spruce is a handsome tree, growing best in moist valleys and reaching 150 feet in height. Its timber is known as white deal, but in Northern Europe is not nearly as valuable as that of the Northern pine (Pinus sylvestris). A resin known as frankincense exudes from the stem, and Burgundy pitch is prepared from it. An infusion of the young shoots is used in the preparation of spruce beer, which contains treacle and is fermented with yeast. Some sixty varieties in cultivation for ornament have been named. Other well-known species of Picea are P. alba and P. nigra (also known as P. rubra) natives of North-East America.