Identification of the Red Spruce: Red Spruce trees have four-sided, short,yellowish green needles on woody pegs . The cones, which fall soon after maturity, are around 1.5 inches long. They hang pendantly and are reddish-brown and woody. The slender new twigs have a reddish coat of down through the first year.
How do I identify a red spruce?
Red Spruce (Picea rubens)
An evergreen tree of eastern North America; the most southerly-distributed spruce of the east, found at high elevations in the south of its range. Twigs are paler in color and lack hairs. Twigs hairy, especially on new growth; twigs usually more reddish in color. Foliage pale bluish.
How can you tell a red spruce from a black spruce?
Black Spruce is a medium-sized coniferous tree that tolerates wet ground better than most–if not all–spruces. It has a characteristic straight trunk and a narrow crown. Red Spruce is a long-lived, shade tolerant conifer that grows naturally in eastern Ontario and the Maritime provinces.
How do you tell a white spruce from a red spruce?
White Spruce have hairless young twigs, longer cones, narrower growth form, and blueish-green foliage. The foliage is arranged less densely and more perpendicular to twig direction, the tree is less shade-tolerant and more likely to grow in higher pH conditions. Hairy twig characteristic of Red Spruce (O. Clarkin).
How do I identify my spruce?
Spruce trees can be identified by their needles which have four sides . Each needle is individually attached to the branch and can be rolled easily between your fingers. Another way to identify spruce trees is by their cones that are covered with smooth thin scales. It is quite easy to bend the cones of spruce trees.
What is red spruce good for?
The wood is extensively used for general construction, pulp-wood, boxes and crates . It is similar to white and black spruce and is usually marketed with them under the common name “spruce”.
What does a red spruce tree look like?
Leaf: Evergreen needles , 1/2 to 5/8 inch long, sharply pointed and four-sided, tending to curve upwards, shiny yellow-green. Each needle borne on a raised, woody peg (sterigma). Flower: Species is monoecious; males cylindrical reddish but turning yellow-brown; females purplish green.
What is the difference between white spruce and black spruce?
White spruce needles are longer than 1/2 inch and sharp . Black spruce needles are typically shorter and blunter; white spruce twigs lack the hair that characterize black spruce. A black spruce can be identified by its shorter, blunter needles.
What eats red spruce?
Red Spruce seeds are eaten by Red-Breasted Nuthatches, Crossbills, Pine Siskins, and other seed-eating birds . Red spruce is reported to be unpalatable to white-tailed deer – An excellent evergreen tree in areas with high deer populations!
Is white spruce a good tree?
The All-Around Favorite Spruce
Incredibly tolerant and providing both ornamental and functional value in colder climates, it’s the perfect tree for anyone in zones 2 to 6. The White Spruce will grow, no matter what. This tree is drought tolerant, cold tolerant and able to grow in nearly every soil conditio...
What is the difference between a white spruce and a Norway spruce?
Use the subtle differences between these two spruce species to tell them apart. Observe that the needles of white spruce are bluish-green and up to three-quarters of an inch long . Norway spruce has shiny dark green needles that can reach an inch in length.
Why is red spruce called red spruce?
The species and common names refer to the bark’s reddish cast , as compared with white and black spruce. Red spruce is the provincial tree of Nova Scotia, Canada. Ethnobotany. The long roots were pulled by native peoples, peeled and split for lacing.
Can a spruce tree come back to life?
As long as there is a little life left in the tree, it can be green again . Don’t mistake brown needless for a dead tree. Brown needles can appear after a cold, dry winter that was preceded by a dry summer. These two factors combine to cause the evergreen to become dehydrated.
What does a white spruce tree look like?
Features slightly curved, pale green needles that are roughly 1⁄2–3⁄4” in length and crowded on the upper side of the stem. Yields slender, cylindrical cones that are light brown in color and 11⁄2–21⁄2” long with flexible scales. Grows in a pyramidal shape, becoming more columnar with age.
What’s the difference between a pine tree and a spruce tree?
This is an easy tip to remember: on pine trees, needles are attached and attached to the branches in clusters ; on spruce trees, needles are attached individually. A longleaf pine – which you can tell is a pine because its needles are attached in bundles. ... Not all conifers that produce cones are pines.
How long does it take for a red spruce tree to grow?
An important commercial species, red spruce is highly valued for pulp, lumber, plywood, containers, and sounding boards for musical instruments. Red spruce grows throughout Canada’s Maritime provinces and stretches as far as North Carolina in the US. It reaches maturity in about 200 years and can live to 400 years.
