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Spruce
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<p>A spruce is a <a href="/facts/Tree/3q0G4cbP">tree</a> of the genus <i>Picea</i> , a genus of about 40 species of <a href="/facts/Conifer/vDUgqxCx">coniferous</a> <a href="/facts/Evergreen/bcLptUdV">evergreen</a> trees in the family <a href="/facts/Pinaceae/Ry0GUN97">Pinaceae</a>, found in the northern <a href="/facts/Temperate/6WPypCzC">temperate</a> and <a href="/facts/Boreal_ecosystem/plRphXgt">boreal</a> (<a href="/facts/Taiga/xjkPQRJs">taiga</a>) regions of the <a href="/facts/Northern_hemisphere/EFwyqL25">Northern hemisphere</a>. <i>Picea</i> is the sole genus in the <a href="/facts/Subfamily/2QPtfDS4">subfamily</a> Piceoideae. Spruces are large trees, from about 20 to 60 m (about 60–200 ft) tall when mature, and have <a href="/facts/Whorl_(botany)/dhD4zdUI">whorled</a> branches and <a href="/facts/Cone_(geometry)/2c9GIzYD">conical</a> form. </p><p>Spruces can be distinguished from other <a href="/facts/Genus/m8EFjSms">genera</a> of the family Pinaceae by their <a href="/facts/Pine_needle/HvMa9uc1">needles</a> (leaves), which are four-sided and attached singly to small persistent peg-like structures (<a href="/facts/Pulvini/7PRKxTzU">pulvini</a> or <a href="/facts/Sterigmata/TmEsp5Xr">sterigmata</a>) on the branches, and by their <a href="/facts/Seed_cone/rqHh3fVu">cones</a> (without any protruding <a href="/facts/Bract/pnMGNMdn">bracts</a>), which hang downwards after they are pollinated. The needles are shed when 4–10 years old, leaving the branches rough with the retained pegs. In other similar genera, the branches are fairly smooth. </p><p>Spruce are used as food plants by the <a href="/facts/Larva/GKo2FIew">larvae</a> of some <a href="/facts/Lepidoptera/yPFPsQmL">Lepidoptera</a> (moth and butterfly) species, such as the <a href="/facts/Choristoneura_fumiferana/C8qRBUl6">eastern spruce budworm</a>. They are also used by the larvae of <a href="/facts/Gall_adelgid/xV5MBTs5">gall adelgids</a> (<i>Adelges</i> species). </p><p>In the mountains of <a href="/facts/Dalarna/3Fv6KAAe">Dalarna</a>, <a href="/facts/Sweden/u3qC7lyj">Sweden</a>, scientists have found a <a href="/facts/Norway_spruce/bkoBYHHv">Norway spruce</a>, nicknamed <a href="/facts/Old_Tjikko/EtALBSqw">Old Tjikko</a>, which by reproducing through <a href="/facts/Layering_(horticulture)/VU1ancxM">layering</a>, has reached an age of 9,550 years and is claimed to be the world's oldest known living tree. </p>