Both have needles and cones, grow mostly in the forest and look very similar. Laypeople often find it difficult to distinguish a spruce from a pine. Do you feel the same way? Then you should definitely read the following article. The clearly presented differences make you an expert in tree identification.
How do I tell the difference between spruce and pine?
Spruce and pine can be distinguished by their needles, cones, bark, height and crown. The spruce has shorter, square-shaped needles, pendulous cones and a conical crown, while the pine has longer, bluish-green needles, spherical cones and a flattened crown.
Different characteristics of spruce and pine
Sometimes just a glance is enough, sometimes you need to pay closer attention to details. In any case, it helps to know which characteristics are important to distinguish a spruce from a pine.
The Needles
Spruce:
- arranged around the branch
- 1-2 cm long
- pointed, square, rigid
- new shoots glow light green
Pine:
- wax-coated surface
- 3-8 cm long
- bluish green or silvery gray
The cones
Spruce:
- long, cylindrical
- hanging on the branch
- 10-16 cm long
- tyres in the first year
- colored red or brown
Pine:
- round, spherical
- 3-6 cm long
- tire every two years
- gray or dark brown
The bark
Spruce:
- thin-scaled
- straight-shafted
- brown or red
Pine:
- forms plates
- gets fatter with age
- grey-brown
- bicolor trunk (yellowish or fox red at the top)
Growth height
Spruce:
up to 60 meters
Pine:
up to 40 meters
The Crown
Spruce:
- conical
- evenly
Pine:
- slim and pointed
- flattened crown
Advantages and disadvantages of wood
There are also differences in the use of wood from both tree species that result from their different properties
Spruce:
- Due to the high spruce population, it is the most commonly used wood in Germany
- fewer branches
- brighter than pine wood
- the heartwood forms a ripe core. which makes the spruce wood susceptible to pest infestation
Pine:
- higher resin content
- therefore more durable and resistant
- The heartwood forms a colored core and is therefore very resistant to pests
- can be easily waterproofed
Occurrences
Last but not least, the two conifers also differ in their distribution area. The spruce is the most common coniferous tree species in Germany, closely followed by the pine. The latter, on the other hand, is more often found in the cold, northern climes.
