black spruce

American  

noun

1. a spruce, Picea mariana, of North America, having bluish-green leaves and grayish-brown bark.

2. the light, soft wood of this tree.

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black spruce British  

noun

1. Also called: spruce pine.  a coniferous tree, Picea mariana , of the northern regions of North America, growing mostly in cold bogs and having dark green needles

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Etymology

Origin of black spruce

An Americanism dating back to 1755–65

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

black spruce

They find that increasing wildfires are wiping out black spruce forests that grow relatively slowly and contribute to the organic layer of the underlying soils.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 16, 2024

Today, water from the lake is processed and piped from the treatment plant to about 40 homes and government buildings on the reserve, which is encircled by forests of black spruce and jack pine.

From New York Times ● Dec. 24, 2022

There is minimal containment of the fire burning in brush, hardwoods, black spruce and tundra.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 7, 2022

Wydeven heard none of the higher-pitched howls that would have indicated this wolf pack, invisible but audible amid miles of tamarack and black spruce, was now raising any young.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 28, 2021

So I explained that trees don’t grow real big in that part of the state, that a bear could knock down one of them skinny little black spruce without even trying.

From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer