Spruce

A spruce is a tree of the genus Picea /paɪˈsiːə/, a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the Family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the earth. Spruces are large trees, from about 20–60 metres (about 60–200 feet) tall when mature, and can be distinguished by their whorled branches and conical form. The needles, or leaves, of spruce trees are attached singly to the branches in a spiral fashion, each needle on a small peg-like structure called a pulvinus. The needles are shed when 4–10 years old, leaving the branches rough with the retained pulvinus (an easy means of distinguishing them from other similar genera, where the branches are fairly smooth).

Spruces are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera (moth and butterfly) species; see list of Lepidoptera that feed on spruces. They are also used by the larvae of gall adelgids (Adelges species).

In the mountains of western Sweden scientists have found a Norway spruce tree, nicknamed Old Tjikko, which by reproducing through layering has reached an age of 9,550 years and is claimed to be the world's oldest known living tree.

Spruce (disambiguation)

Spruce are trees in the genus Picea.

Spruce may also refer to:

Places

In the United States:

People

Spruce 1

Spruce 1 is a proposed coal strip-mining operation in Logan County, West Virginia, in the Appalachian Mountains. First proposed in 1997 by Arch Coal Inc. of St. Louis, the operation was first to cover 3,113 acres (12.60 km²), then reduced to 2,278. The permitting process was closely monitored by environmental groups and the mining industry alike with regard to the Obama administration's future mining policy.

In 2005, the United States Army Corps of Engineers began reviewing the permit application by Hobet Mining, Inc. to construct the mine. The Corps of Engineers issued a permit for it on January 31, 2007, but legal action delayed construction of the mine, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considered revoking the permit. United States House of Representatives member Nick Rahall, a Democrat from West Virginia's 3rd congressional district, claimed in a speech preceding a May 2010 public EPA hearing that the EPA's actions would cost West Virginia jobs. At that hearing, testimony came mostly from people supporting the local coal industry.