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 is burning tundra, brush and pockets of black spruce trees.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 9, 2022

Some of the region’s iconic black spruce forests are giving way to faster-growing deciduous trees after they burn.

From Scientific American • Mar. 14, 2022

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