CHAPTER IV 

 TYPE III . 



THE SPRUCE FIR (Picea excelsa, Link.) 



THE Spruce, a type which will be well known to all 

 readers, is a forest tree, sometimes reaching as much 

 as 150 feet in height. It is not a native of Britain, 

 though frequently planted. Small specimens of this 

 Fir are those generally used as our Christmas trees. 

 In Northern Europe and in the mountainous districts 

 of Central Europe the Spruce forms large woods, and 

 extends almost to the extreme limits within which 

 trees can grow. In the North it reaches Lapland 

 and Arctic Eussia, while on the Alps it is found up 

 to a level of more than 6000 feet. 



The tree has a pyramidal form ; its main stem is 

 straight and vertical. The principal branches grow 

 out from it almost horizontally or slope slightly 

 downwards ; the smaller twigs are nearly upright. 



The leaves are spirally arranged and crowded 

 together. They are needle - shaped, and are bluntly 

 four-cornered in transverse section. Each leaf is 

 traversed from end to end by a single vein (see 

 Fig. 96). 



The branches arise in the axils of the leaves, but 



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