Spruce

 

 

There is probably nobody in Estonia, big or small, who has not mentioned this tree  several times lately. In the apparent winter “death“ of nature the evergreen spruce now expresses an image of the vital force in our forests. On the basis of folk traditions it was so already in ancient times before the  Christian celebration of Christmas holidays was brought to our lands.

 

The Norway spruce is the only spruce species to grow in the wild here; it has extremely variable characteristics which forest roamers surely have noticed. These characteristics are actually around 130, showing in forms, varieties and types. Among the more widely spread the candelabra spruce and snake branch spruce that are easy to notice come to mind, but there are plenty of differences in the shape and branch canopy as well as bark colour of spruces.

 

We are used to see the top of a spruce  with almost always a sharp tip. This testifies to the fact that the tree continues to grow even at an age high enough to command respect  – more than a couple of hundred years old trees are not at all rare in our forests.

 

The needles are densely arranged on the branches, which hints at a shade-loving tree species. According to investigations the spruce can use solar energy most successfully compared to our other plant communities

 

There are enough of cone decorations on the spruces this year as well as the previous year. Based on observations very good cone years repeat at 5 to 7 year intervals.   

 

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