Spruce - message about the tree: description of where it grows, how it reproduces and is used

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Spruce

Spruce belongs to the pine family.
This is an evergreen tree, a symbol of the New Year. Spruce can grow up to fifty meters in height and live up to three hundred years. In the USA there is a spruce tree that is eight hundred and fifty-two years old. There are about forty-five varieties of tall spruce trees. Of these, the following can be noted: Eastern European or ordinary, Siberian, Oriental, Korean, Ayak, Tien Shan, Glen spruce, Canadian, red, Serbian, blue.

Low spruces are called dwarf. Dwarf spruces have found wide application in the field of landscape design and are often used in home and interior decoration. There are the following types of dwarf spruce trees: Push spruce, Nidiformis spruce, Nana spruce, Bialobok spruce.

The distribution area of spruce is very large. The common spruce has the largest distribution area: Western Europe, Russia and the Urals. Siberian and Ayan spruce grows in Siberia, and eastern spruce grows in the Caucasus. There are varieties of spruce that grow in certain climates: for example, only on the Kuril Islands, southern Sakhalin and the island of Hokkaido.

Spruce reproduces with the help of heterosexual cones. When the seeds ripen, the cone falls to the ground and is carried away by the wind, sometimes very far. Spruce begins to reproduce after fifteen years of growth.

Spruce is not only an ornamental plant, it is widely used in various fields. Spruce bark, wood, pine needles and cones are used.

Spruce wood is very “musical” and has the ability to “hold” sound. The speed of sound propagation in spruce is fifteen times greater than the propagation of sound in air. Previously, in Rus' they made harps from spruce, but now they make soundboards for cellos, violins and guitars. To do this, choose a tree without curls and knots. Since houses were previously built from spruce, restorers are looking for pieces of spruce in the ruins of old houses that will be used in restoration: it is believed that such spruce has acquired even greater musicality with age. They tried to replace the spruce with another tree, but they did not find a second such “musical” tree.

The second major area of spruce is wood chemical production. Cardboard, paper, cellulose are made from it, and turpentine is obtained. Tannins are obtained from the bark, which are used in industry for tanning leather and in medicine.

Essential fractions and volatile oils are isolated from the needles, which are used in the perfume industry and medicine.

Spruce is widely used in ornamental gardening and park construction. Spruce trees are often planted along roads for protection from the wind. Nuts from the cones serve as food for birds and animals.

In many countries, spruce is decorated for the New Year. In America, the Christmas tree is decorated long before Christmas. They decorate mainly with edible decorations: tangerines, sweets and red and white candies in honor of Jesus Christ.

In Germany, Christmas trees glow and shimmer. They are decorated with balls, garlands, and Santa Claus figurines.

In Finland, trees are protected, so they prefer to decorate artificial Christmas trees with homemade decorations.

In many countries, for the New Year they decorate not a Christmas tree, but other trees: in China - a tangerine or orange tree, in Mexico - a palm tree, in Africa - a baobab tree. Often in Asian countries they dress up not a tree, but a rake in order to “rakes” more wealth in the new year.

Description

The Christmas tree is a slender tree that can grow up to 35 meters high. During the first 10 years it grows very slowly - a few cm per year, then the growth rate increases, but after 100-120 years it slows down again. It has a pyramidal (triangular) crown with a sharp tip. The branches are densely located throughout the trunk. It is often difficult to see behind the spruce feet.

In a young tree, the bark is smooth, gray-brown in color; in an old tree, the bark becomes gray and peels off in thin plates. The needles are dark green and shiny, sharp and prickly. The needles are much shorter than those of pine, up to 3 cm long.

They stay firmly on the branches for 7-10 years. But in urban conditions, with heavy smoke in the air, the lifespan of needles is greatly reduced: they fall off after only 3 years.

The spruce root system is located close to the surface, so strong winds can knock down the tree.

Spruce is a long-liver, it lives 250-300 years.

image of Eli

Since childhood, at Christmas and New Year, people have become accustomed to smelling fir branches.
Mixing with the smell of tangerines, this fragrant pine aroma was a harbinger of a miracle, gifts, new experiences and the New Year. For many centuries, Spruce has personified the symbol of a new cycle. In ancient times, remaining evergreen, Spruce was an allegory of eternal youth and immortality, longevity and fidelity.

For the same reasons, the Spruce “spruce branches” were and remain in many villages a sign of a bygone life. During the funeral procession, “spruce branches” are thrown at the feet, saying goodbye to the departed. Their age has ended, but has passed into eternity.

In Scandinavia, spruce was used for ritual bonfires. The resinous firewood gave the fire unique strength.

Where does it grow

It grows throughout the Northern Hemisphere. It can be found in North America, Central and Northern Europe. It is widespread in Russia: in Siberia, the Urals, the Far East, the Caucasus, and in the steppe zone. Also grows in China and Japan.

50 types of in total . The most common: Siberian, European, Caucasian, Canadian, white, red, black.

The Christmas tree is the basis of the taiga. It grows in mixed forests, coexisting well with larch, pine, Siberian cedar, fir, oak, linden, birch, aspen, and hazel. It also forms pure spruce forests, which have a number of features:

It's damp and dark here;
the soil is completely covered with moss;
under the spruce paws grow dense thickets of blueberries, lingonberries, wood sorrel, ferns, and cuckoo flax.

Medicinal properties of Spruce

Fir cones, pine needles and resin are used for medicinal purposes.

The needles contain bactericidal substances, amino acids, chlorophyll, vitamins and phytoncides. Spruce needles are rich in vitamin C, the concentration of which increases in winter, therefore, since ancient times, pine “tea” has been an excellent remedy for scurvy and at the same time strengthened the entire body.

Daily consumption of 3–4 spruce needles for a month can restore immunity and increase resistance to a number of viral diseases.

Several spruce branches placed in a vase in a room can kill harmful bacteria in the room, leaving a pleasant aroma in the air.

Fir cones are rich in tannins and essential oils. They also contain copper, manganese, aluminum, and iron.

Essential oils are used in the fight against acute respiratory infections and diseases of the upper respiratory tract.

Syrup from the buds of Spruce is prescribed for microinfarctions.

A decoction of pine needles is used by inhalation to treat sore throat and sinusitis.

Spruce resin or resin has antiseptic properties and can be used in ointments to heal wounds and ulcers.

Growing conditions and reproduction

For a spruce to grow well, it needs the following conditions:

Shadow. This tree does not really like the sun; young trees often get sunburned in open areas.
Sufficient hydration. The Christmas tree does not tolerate drought well.
Temperate climate. The tree is cold-resistant, not afraid of frost, but it does not grow well in the southern regions, where summers are too hot and long,
The soil should not be too dense, but moderately fertile.

Spruce is a monoecious plant. This means that male spikelets and female cones grow on the same tree. Propagated by seeds, the germination rate of which is very good. The cones open in late November - early December, the seeds fall out, are picked up by the wind and carried far around the surrounding area.

In early spring, the seed awakens and begins to grow. The main condition for the sprouts to take root and begin to develop well is a warm spring, because they die during spring frosts.

Taxonomy [edit | edit code ]

Picea

A.Dietr. Fl. Berlin 1(2): 794. 1824.

syn. Veitchia Lindl. The Gardeners' Chronicle & Agricultural Gazette 1861: 265. nom. rej. against Veitchia H.Wendl., 1868 Flora Vitiensis 270. 1868. nom. cons.

Rod El

is part of the Pine family (
Pinaceae
) of the order Pine (
Pinales
) [9].

Types [edit | edit code ]
Genus Spruce

, according to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, includes 37 primary species and 4 hybridogenic ones [10] [11]:

Use in the national economy

Spruce plantations can often be seen in sanatoriums. Because their needles release phytoncides that clean and disinfect the air. Also, spruce often becomes the basis of landscapes in personal plots.

High-quality musical instruments are made from this wood. Soft wood is used to make paper, rayon, and smokeless gunpowder. Resin, tar, rosin, and turpentine are obtained.

Fir cones are widely used in folk medicine. Healers believe that a Christmas tree is a donor tree; if you lean against it and stand there for a few minutes, it will give a person energy and strength.

the forest guest for the New Year.

How much joy it brings, filling the house with a special forest smell and pleasing the eye with its beauty!
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Conclusion

It is impossible to remain indifferent to the strict symmetrical silhouettes and exquisite shades of blue spruce trees. That is why these noble conifers are often found in landscape design projects. They harmonize perfectly with other plants, look good at any stage of growth and emit a pleasant, calm energy. By choosing popular varieties of blue spruce, you will surely decorate the landscape and create a green corner that you will love with all your heart.

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Russian Christmas tree in the second half of the 19th century

The development of the Christmas tree in Russia is striking in its rapidity. Already in the middle of the century, the Christmas tree became quite common for residents of many provincial and district cities. The reason for the rapid entry of the St. Petersburg innovation into the life of the provincial city is clear: having abandoned the ancient folk custom of celebrating Christmastide, the townspeople felt a certain ritual vacuum. This vacuum was either not filled with anything, causing a feeling of disappointment due to vain holiday expectations, or was compensated by new, purely urban entertainment, including the arrangement of a Christmas tree. The Christmas tree conquered the landowner's estate with great difficulty. Here, as memoirists testify, Christmastide continued to be celebrated for many years in the old fashioned way, in compliance with folk customs.

And yet, little by little, St. Petersburg fashion began to penetrate into the estate. If until the middle of the 19th century, the arrangement of a Christmas tree was not mentioned in memoirs dedicated to Christmastide on a landowner’s estate, then after ten years the situation changed. About the Christmas holidays of 1863, Leo Tolstoy’s sister-in-law T. A. Kuzminskaya, who lived for a long time in Yasnaya Polyana and considered it her “second parental home,” recalls: “Every day we had some kind of entertainment: theater, evenings, a Christmas tree and even horseback riding triplets." Two years later, on December 14, 1865, in a letter to Sofya Andreevna Tolstoy, she says: “Here we are preparing a large Christmas tree for the first holiday and drawing different lanterns and remembering how you know how to make these things.” And further: “There was a magnificent Christmas tree with gifts and yard children. On a moonlit night - riding a troika."

At first, the presence of the Christmas tree in the house was limited to one evening. On the eve of Christmas, a spruce tree was secretly taken from the children into the best room of the house, into the hall or living room, and placed on a table covered with a white tablecloth. The adults, as A.I. Tsvetaeva recalls, “hid (the Christmas tree) from us with exactly the same passion with which we dreamed of seeing it.” Candles were attached to the branches of the tree, delicacies and decorations were hung on the tree, gifts were laid out under it, which, like the tree itself, were prepared in strict secrecy. And finally, just before the children were allowed into the hall, candles were lit on the tree. It was strictly forbidden to enter the room where the Christmas tree was installed until special permission was given. Most often, during this time, the children were taken to some other room. Therefore, they could not see what was happening in the house, but by various signs they tried to guess what was happening: they listened, looked through the keyhole or through the door crack.

When all the preparations were finally completed, a pre-arranged signal was given (“a magic bell rang”) or one of the adults or servants came to pick up the children. The doors to the hall were opened. This moment of opening, throwing open the doors is present in many memoirs, stories and poems about the Christmas tree holiday: for children it was a long-awaited and passionately desired moment of entry into the “Christmas tree space”, their connection with the magic tree. The first reaction was numbness, almost stunned. Presented to the children in all its glory, the Christmas tree decorated “in the most brilliant way” invariably evoked amazement, admiration, and delight. After the first shock passed, screams, gasps, squeals, jumping, and clapping began. At the end of the holiday, the children, brought to an extremely enthusiastic state, received the tree at their complete disposal: they tore off sweets and toys from it, destroyed, broke and completely destroyed the tree (which gave rise to the expressions “rob the tree”, “pinch the tree”, “destroy the tree”). . This is where the name of the holiday itself comes from: the holiday of “plucking the Christmas tree.” The destruction of the Christmas tree had a psychotherapeutic meaning for them as a release after a long period of stress they had experienced.

At the end of the holiday, the devastated and broken tree was taken out of the hall and thrown into the courtyard. The custom of setting up a Christmas tree for the Christmas holidays inevitably underwent changes. In those houses where funds allowed and there was enough space, already in the 1840s, instead of the traditionally small Christmas tree, a large tree began to be installed: tall, ceiling-length, Christmas trees, wide and dense, with strong and fresh needles, were especially valued. It is quite natural that tall trees could not be kept on the table, so they began to be attached to the crosspiece (to the “circles” or “legs”) and installed on the floor in the center of the hall or the largest room in the house. Having moved from the table to the floor, from the corner to the middle, the tree turned into the center of the festive celebration, giving the children the opportunity to have fun around it and dance in circles. The tree standing in the center of the room made it possible to examine it from all sides, looking for both new and old toys, familiar from previous years. You could play under the tree, hide behind it or under it. It is possible that this Christmas tree dance was borrowed from the Trinity Day ritual, the participants of which, holding hands, walked around the birch tree while singing ritual songs. The changes that took place changed the essence of the holiday: gradually it began to turn into a Christmas tree celebration for the children of friends and relatives.

At such holidays, called children's Christmas trees, in addition to the younger generation, adults were always present: parents or elders accompanying the children. Children of governesses, teachers, and servants were also invited. Over time, Christmas trees began to be held for adults, for which parents went alone, without children. The first public Christmas tree was organized in 1852 at the St. Petersburg Ekateringofsky station, erected in 1823 in the Ekateringofsky country garden. A huge spruce tree installed in the station hall “was adjacent to the wall on one side, and the other was decorated with scraps of multi-colored paper.” Following her, public Christmas trees began to be organized in noble, officer and merchant meetings, clubs, theaters and other places. Moscow did not lag behind the Neva capital: from the beginning of the 1850s, Christmas tree celebrations in the hall of the Noble Moscow Assembly also became annual.

How are they similar?

You should not immediately attack those people who are unable to distinguish between these two conifers - even if you identify them automatically, you need to recognize that they have many common characteristics. Experts identify the following common features.

Kinship. Although only the class of conifers is common to the two trees, and their own genera have already been identified for each, this is still a fairly close relationship, indicating that there are not many differences, and they are not always on the surface.
Formation of cones. Although they are not exactly the same, the process of their formation is approximately similar. So, at the moment of tying on a branch, they are located vertically, but then under their own weight they lower and acquire a horizontal position.
Needles instead of leaves. Again, one can argue for a long time about the fact that their needles are different, but still the fact of their presence unites pine and spruce, making them stand out against the background of deciduous trees. The policy of selling not only spruces, but also pine trees before the New Year, further confuses those who are sincerely convinced that only spruce can be a New Year's tree.
Considerable height. If both trees are left alone and allowed to grow normally, they will surpass most domestic species as adults.
Phytoncides. Coniferous trees not only smell pleasant, but also have practical properties, including the ability to kill bacteria with the help of secreted phytoncides. In this regard, spruce and pine are approximately equivalent.
Economic use. Both pine and spruce trees are very useful for human activity, and in different industries. The wood of these species is actively used for industrial and construction needs, and the bark, resin and needles are useful for pharmaceutical and cosmetology enterprises.