In the vast family of conifers, few people can tell the difference between a fir and spruce, especially since the famous Christmas tree has been confusing the issue for decades. Here are a few tips to avoid making mistakes and to recognize them.
What is a fir tree?
A real fir is a coniferous tree that belongs to the Abies genus, which includes about fifty species of trees with a high growth rate (up to 50 m high for Abies alba). Firs grow naturally in mountainous and northern regions. Very hardy, they appreciate rich, fresh and well-drained soils with an acidic tendency.
What is spruce?
The spruce is a conifer that belongs to the genus Picea, which includes about forty species of trees growing in the cooler areas of the Northern Hemisphere. Very hardy, they like full sun and acidic, cool and well-drained soils.
How to differentiate a fir from spruce?
To differentiate the two types, there are a few tricks:
1- the needles
- Fir branches have linear and flattened leaves (needles) that are often shiny green and have two white stripes on the back along the length of each leaf. When pulled off, they leave a round scar on the branch.
- The leaves of the spruce are arranged all around the twig. They are tough and have 3 sides that can be felt when a needle is rolled under the finger. The tip of the needle is prickly. When a leaf is torn off, a deep scar is left on the branch taking a small piece of bark.
2- Cones
- The female cones of the fir are born around May-June at the end of the branches, they are compact and purple-blue in color, at maturity they split and release the seeds. At the top, the male cones, often green and then purple blue to brown, appear later in the season. The female cone is erect and remains on the tree, where over time, only its central part called candle will remain.
- The female cones of the spruce carried by the main and secondary shoots are woody, oblong to cylindrical and especially pendulous, which definitely differentiates them from those of the fir, which are well erect. They fall to the ground in autumn. The yellow or red male cones, ovoid, appear in March
The myth of the Christmas tree
For a long time, Picea abies, the common spruce, has been used for the Christmas tree market because it is one of the easiest to produce and one of the cheapest on the market. The term 'Fir' is therefore misplaced, as it is in fact a spruce. Nowadays, French producers offer for sale Abies nobilis or Abies nordmanniana, real fir trees whose needles are more resistant to the dryness of overheated houses in winter but which remain more expensive to buy.
