Spruces

A spruce is a tree of the genus Picea,  a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the family Pinaceae , found in the northern temperate and boreal regions of the Earth.

Picea species are evergreen and single-stemmed trees.

They usually reach heights of about 30 to 50 meters, in exceptional cases over 80 meters, such as Picea sitchensis.

The crown of the tree is conical to cylindrical.

The trunk diameter is up to 1 meter, maximum up to 2.5 meters. Some species have extreme values of up to 4 meters.

 

 the Norway spruce or European spruce

 

They can be distinguished from other members of the pine family by their needles, which are four-sided and attached singly to small persistent peg-like structures on the branches, and by their cones (without any protruding bracts ), which hang downwards after they are pollinated.

 

The morphology and anatomy of the needles are essential features for distinguishing the individual spruce species.

The shape and structure (morphology) of cones is also useful in differentiating spruce species.

 

Spruces can be several hundred years old, for example the Norway spruce (Picea abies) can live up to 300 years.

Spruce is one of the most important tree species used in forestry in the northern hemisphere.

As with the other species, the decisive factors here are straight growth, rapid growth, low demands on the location and the good usability of the wood.

 

Spruce wood is used for many purposes, ranging from general construction work and crates to highly specialised uses in wooden aircraft. Spruce wood is processed in the form of round timber, sawn timber such as boards and glued laminated timber and as veneer.

At the same time, it is the most important wood for the production of wood-based materials such as plywood, glued wood, chipboard and fiberboard.

The spruce forests in many high mountains and steep slopes have some important protective functions, as they protect the populated valleys from avalanches and rockfalls as protective forests.

Some species are also planted as ornamental trees in parks and gardens or used as Christmas trees.

 

 

source of information wikipedia.org