Did you know of these two wonderful facts of the spruce tree? Wood from spruce tree was a central constituent to the Wright brothers who built the first wood aircraft and that both the male and female pine cones are produced by spruce trees which are green when young and eventually turn to brown when they mature.
If you have ever wondered if the mystery of the spruce tree, well, here is everything you will need to know.
Table of Contents
The symbolism of a spruce tree
-
Symbol of resistance and strength
The spruce tree is the only evergreen tree in the winter season. It resists the harsh conditions of winter like low temperatures and the cold winds. It still remains green when other trees die or become passive.
When used as an example, it encourages people to be strong and resistant to anything despite the challenges they face in life. As there are times of harsh winter and summer, there will also be good and bad times in life.
-
Symbol of life and hope
The old Tjikko spruce tree is the oldest tree on the planet. Despite the harsh conditions it faces during the winter months, it is still able to stay for as long as 9550 years.
This shows that despite the troubles people face in life there is always hope to overcome them and live longer.
-
Symbol of kindness
As you have seen, spruce offers so many uses to humans. For example: in food and medicine, in timber, in tonewood and so on.
This gives people the desire of helping each other in every possible way hence resulting in a great amount of love among people.
-
Symbol of peace
Due to the important uses spruce trees offer, it symbolizes kindness and love among people which will result in people living in peace and harmony without any violence since people will be caring for each other.
-
Symbol of happiness and friendship
The fact that spruce trees are evergreen, conical shaped and have needle-like leaves, it, therefore, can be used as a Christmas tree when decorated.
During Christmas, the Christmas tree will bring happiness and will make people come together hence promoting friendship among the community.
-
Symbol of protection
The spruce tree can be used for medicinal purpose and also as food. Spruce beer can be used to prevent scurvy and the fresh shoots of spruce tree are a natural source for vitamin c.
This gives people a sense of security since it makes them feel protected against certain diseases and hunger.
-
Symbol of courage
During winter seasons, the spruce tree stands firm and remains the only tree that is green and overcomes the harsh conditions of winter. This should make people be courageous and face their challenges head-on without fear.
Meaning, history, and uses of spruce tree
Spruce is a coniferous tree that is evergreen and that belongs to the pine family. It belongs to the genus ‘Picea’ and family ‘pinceae’.
Spruce trees are found in northern temperate regions of the earth. Their height is from about 20 – 60 meters tall when it is mature and they are conical and have whorled branches. Their needle-like leaves distinguish them from the other members of the pine family.
The word spruce came from the ‘spruse’, a Middle English adjective which emanates from Prussia. It was a universal term for commodities that the ‘Hanseatic merchants’ from England bought.
The feature that was most useful in differentiating the various species of spruce is the cone scale morphology where one looked at features like the flower, shoot, and needles.
The growing rate of the trees is from 6 to 11 inches per season. However, some species can even have a growth rate of 60 inches per year. The needle-like leaves shed after 4 to 10 years and are arranged in a spiral shape arranged on the branches.
The spruce trees that were injured leaked gummy resin that was used by Native Americans to ease their thirst.
Old Tjikko, a Norway spruce tree in Sweden has the ability to age up to 9550 years making it the oldest tree on the planet.
Uses of spruce tree
The main uses of spruce tree include:
-
Hardwood
The spruce word known as the whitewood is used for many purposes in the timber world:
- Used to make wooden aircraft by the Wright brothers
- Recommended for the purpose of construction because unlike other woods, it has decay resistance qualities after erosion.
-
Pulpwood
Whitewood is the most important wood when it comes to paper use. This is because it has long wood fibers that bind together to make strong paper.
Whitewood fibers arecharacterized by a thin wall which upon drying, it disintegrates into thin bands. Spruce is used in mechanical pulping due to its ease of bleaching.
It is also used to make northern bleached softwood Kraft (NBSK) which is the paper industry’s benchmark grade of pulp used in tissue paper.
-
Food and medicine
Spruce trees have fresh shoots which are a natural source of vitamin c. it is known that captain cook made spruce beer from its leaves and branches during the sea voyage with an objective of preventing scurvy in his crew.
Spruce needles when ingested, Â helps in water storage hence giving another means of hydration.
-
Musical instruments
The spruce wood that is used in musical instruments is called the Tonewood. Many musical instruments such as guitars, violins, mandolins, piano, and harps use spruce wood as the standard material.
There are types of spruce that are used for the purpose of tonewood. They include Sitka, Engelmann, Adirondack, European spruces.
Other uses include:
- Used in the manufacture of pitch
- Used in weaving baskets
- Used in sewing together pieces of birch bark for canoes
- Used in horticulture
- Used as a Christmas tree
- Used in making sculptures
Conslusion
In conclusion, you have seen the positivity that the spruce tree brings to the community. Which among the symbolisms addressed pertaining to the spruce tree has an impact on your life?
Thank you for taking the time to read this article !
Alphonso says
Amazing post. It’s interesting to read what others thought