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Spruce
A spruce is a tree of the genus ''Picea'' ,〔''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995:606–607〕 a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the Family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the earth. Spruces are large trees, from about 20–60 metres (about 60–200 feet) tall when mature, and can be distinguished by their whorled branches and conical form. The needles, or leaves, of spruce trees are attached singly to the branches in a spiral fashion, each needle on a small peg-like structure called a ''pulvinus''. The needles are shed when 4–10 years old, leaving the branches rough with the retained pulvinus (an easy means of distinguishing them from other similar genera, where the branches are fairly smooth).
Spruces are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera (moth and butterfly) species; see list of Lepidoptera that feed on spruces. They are also used by the larvae of gall adelgids (''Adelges'' species).
In the mountains of western Sweden scientists have found a Norway spruce tree, nicknamed Old Tjikko, which by reproducing through layering has reached an age of 9,550 years and is claimed to be the world's oldest known living tree.〔(Swedish Spruce Is World's Oldest Tree: Scientific American Podcast )〕
==Etymology==
The word ''spruce'' entered the English language from the Polish name of Prusy (a historical region, today part of Poland). It became ''spruce'' because in Polish, ''z Prus'', sounded like "spruce" in English (transl. "from Prussia") and was a generic term for commodities brought to England by Hanseatic merchants and because the tree was believed to have come from Polish Ducal Prussia.〔Harper, Douglas. (spruce ). Online Etymology Dictionary. Accessed 8 May 2010.〕
抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』
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