192 Minnesota Plant Life. 



The spruces. The spruces are known for their spire-Hke 

 habit of growth and serve as the Christmas trees of the children. 

 They do not grow to any great size in Minnesota although the 

 white spruce under suitable conditions may reach a height of 

 150 feet. In Minnesota the black spruce seems to be rather 

 more fre(|uent and together with tamaracks, or to their exclu- 

 sion, forms characteristic swamp growths, the trees standing 

 very close together. A slightly different variety, the muskeg 

 spruce, with peculiar drooping branches is particularly abundant 

 in such localities. Spruce leaves are short and four-sided, 

 spreading in all directions from the twig. The cones are small 

 and plump, with shell-shaped scales closely lapping over each 

 other. In the white spruce the cones are oblong and some- 

 what cylindrical in form, while in the black spruce and muskeg 

 spruce they are egg-shaped in general outline. When the 

 leaves of the black spruce die they fall, leaving little hummocks 

 on the twigs. None of these plants except the true pines has 

 special leaf-bearing branches which separate as a wiiole when 

 the leaves have finished their work. 



The balsam. The balsam or fir is a slender tree growing in 

 somewhat drier soil than that preferred by the tamaracks and 

 black spruces. In Minnesota it rarely exceeds a height of 40 

 feet. The leaves are flat and sessile, arranged apparently in 

 rows right and left on the twig, but really in spirals. The twigs 

 have a much flatter look than the twigs of spruces. Only one 

 species occurs in Minnesota and this has a smooth bark in which 

 resinous blisters are formed. The whole plant is sweet-scented 

 and the wood is soft and light. From the resin blisters is de- 

 rived the product known as Canada balsam. The balsam tree 

 may be known from the spruces by its erect cones as well as 

 by the flat branch systems, for in spruces the cones are pendu- 

 lous. 



The junipers and red cedar. There remain to be men- 

 tioned the junipers, a group of evergreens remarkable for trans- 

 forming their |)istillate cones into little round blue berries. The 

 scales of the cone become flohy. inclosing the seeds. They are 

 fragrant and an extract of juniper is used in the flavoring of gin. 

 Birds pick the berries, thus providing for the distribution of the 

 seeds. Therefore, as one would expect, the seeds are not winged 



