A spruce is a tree belonging to the genus Picea, which includes about 40 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the Pinaceae family, found mainly in the northern temperate and boreal regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Spruces can grow between 20 to 60 meters (60 to 200 feet) tall and have whorled branches with a conical shape.
They are identifiable by their four-sided needles, which attach singly to small peg-like structures on the branches, and their downward-hanging cones that lack protruding bracts. Needles are shed after 4 to 10 years, leaving rough branches.
Spruce trees are food sources for the larvae of certain moths, such as the eastern spruce budworm, as well as for the larvae of gall adelgids.
