RED SPRUCE (Picea rubens, Sarg.). 70 to 100 feet. Pyra midal or conical tree, with long-persistent lower branches. Bark thin, scaly, reddish brown; branches scaly; twigs stout, downy, and green, becoming smooth and bright red the second year. Wood light, soft, close-grained, pale red, used for lumber and paper pulp. Leaves dark, yellow-green, shining, 4-sided, curved, sharp, less than an inch long, in spiral line, or horny projections of twig. Flowers staminate spikes oval,
solitary, lateral, scarlet; pistillate oblong cones, purplish, with rounded, reflexed scales, separated by fringed or notched bracts. Fruits oblong-ovate, 1 to 2 inches long, purplish to brownish red, pendant, on stalks, opening in fall, and shed with the winged seeds. Dist.: New England and following the mountains to North Carolina.