Edible tree - novice Season - all year Common names Varies between species but usually suffixed with spruce, such as Norway spruce, Sitka spruce, blue spruce, Himalayan spruce, white spruce, black spruce
Scientific name meaning: Picea is derived from Latin and means pitch pine. This is in reference to the fact that spruce was used to manufacturer pitch prior to petrochemicals
Habitat  Often found in plantations, spruce is grown for its use as an ornamental tree and for timber and is not a native of the UK. It is also found in garden planting schemes. It is native to the mountainous areas across Europe, the USA and Canada. |
Overall structure  Spruces are coniferous trees growing to between 20 and 90m. Their branched sweep downwards and in most species cover the entire trunk underneath foliage. It drops needles nearest the trunk so these parts of the branches are usually bare. The overall shape of the tree is roughly triangular. |
Needles  The needles of spruce are spiky/prickly and attached singularly to the twig. At the base of each needle is a small brown notch, known as a peg. When the needles are removed, the pegs remain giving a rough feel to the twigs. |
Trunk  The trunk of spruce is usually red-brown with cracker bark. |
Flowers Both male and female flowers can be found on spruce. The male flowers are yellowish catkins and the female catkins have a pink-red tone. |
Cones Spruce cones dangle downwards and are long and thin. |
Possible lookalikes  Other coniferous trees could be confused with spruce. The way to separate is the spruce's singularly attached spiky/prickly needles, with brown peg at the needle base. Yew (Taxus spp), pictured, is deadly poisonous and can be distinguished as its needles are flat and not spiky/prickly like spruce's. |
Use as a food The young tips soft that emerge in springtime can be used raw or cooked. They have a strong citrus-like flavour and are rich in vitamin C. Raw, they can be roughly chopped and sprinkled through salads, used to make pesto, infused into alcohol or steeped in warm water to make tea. Cooked, they can be used to make syrups, jellies, candies and jams, or to flavour hot dishes. They work particularly well with Thai cuisine recipes.
The male catkins can be used to as a flavour enhancer and the centre of the young female cones can be eaten after roasting Use in herbal medicine and medicine Has been used as an antiseptic, expectorant, antibiotic and sedative
If you are suffering from any ailment or need medical advice, please see your General Practitioner.
Hazards Make sure only the younger paler tips are used, as older needles are prickly
Other uses Used in the production of pitch and turpentine, and as a source of tanning. The oils are used in perfume making and the pulp is important in papermaking Importance to other species Spruce forms a dense canopy so prevents most plants and other trees from growing underneath it. However, it provides cover for large mammals, nesting sites for birds and forms mycorrhizal relationships with many species of fungi
Always stay safe when foraging. You need to be 100% sure of your identification, 100% sure that your foraged item is edible, and 100% sure that you are not allergic to it (it is good practice to always try a small amount of any new food you are consuming). If in doubt, leave it out!
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