Family: Pinaceae, Pine view all from this family

Description Tree with open, irregular, conical crown of short, horizontal or slightly drooping branches; a prostrate shrub at timberline.
Height: 20-60' (6-18 m).
Diameter: 4-12" (0.1-0.3 m).
Needles: evergreen; 1/4-5/8" (6-15 cm) long. Stiff, 4-angled, sharp-pointed; spreading on all sides of twig from very short leafstalks; ashy blue-green with whitish lines.
Bark: gray or blackish, thin, scaly; brown beneath; cut surface of inner bark yellowish.
Twigs: brown; slender, hairy, rough, with peglike bases.
Cones: 5/8-1 1/4" (1.5-3 cm), long; egg-shaped or rounded; dull gray; curved downward on short stalk and remaining attached, often clustered near top of crown; cone-scales stiff and brittle, rounded and finely toothed; paired, brown, long-winged seeds.

Habitat Wet soils and bogs including peats, clays, and loams; in coniferous forests; often in pure stands.

Range Across N. North America near northern limit of trees from Alaska and British Columbia east to Labrador, south to N. New Jersey, and west to Minnesota; at 2000-5000' (610-1524 m).

Discussion Black Spruce is one of the most widely distributed conifers in North America. Uses are similar to those of White Spruce; however, the small size limits lumber production. The lowest branches take root by layering when deep snows bend them to the ground, forming a ring of small trees around a large one. Spruce gum and spruce beer were made from this species and Red Spruce.