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

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

The fire was started by lightning on May 31 and has continued to burn through tundra, dry grasses, brush and black spruce.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 14, 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

Maples and hemlocks are replaced by yellow birch and the northland’s black spruce.

From "On the Far Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George