Black spruce, Bog spruce, Swamp spruce
It is a cool temperate plant. It grows in wetlands. It often grows on organic soils. It is somewhat shade tolerant. It is damaged by flooding and fire. It suits hardiness zones 1-8.
Edible Portion
- Drink, Flowers, Gum, Inner bark, Seeds, Seedspod, Tea
Where does Black spruce grow?
Found in: Alaska, Australia, Canada, Europe, Germany, North America, United States
Notes: There are between 30 and 40 species of Picea. It is the tree emblem of Newfoundland Province of Canada.
Growing Black spruce, Bog spruce, Swamp spruce
Cultivation: Plants seed quickly after fires. Trees are easy to transplant. Often attached branches in contat with soil form roots and these layers can be planted. This forms a clump of trees.
Edible Uses: It has been used to produce spruce beer. The sap and twigs are boiled with molasses or maple sugar and fermented. The gum is used for chewing gum. It is also the source of spruce oil used for flavouring.
Production: A slow growing tree. It grows more quickly in drier upland sites. It can live for 200 years.
Nutrition Info
per 100g edible portion| Edible Part | Energy (kcal) | Protein (g) | Iron (mg) | Vitamin A (ug) | Vitamin c (mg) | Zinc (mg) | % Water |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
References
Beckstrom-Sternberg, Stephen M., and James A. Duke. "The Foodplant Database." http://probe.nalusda.gov:8300/cgi-bin/browse/foodplantdb.(ACEDB version 4.0 - data version July 1994)
Brickell, C. (Ed.), 1999, The Royal Horticultural Society A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants. Convent Garden Books. p 794
Coombes, A.J., 2000, Trees. Dorling Kindersley Handbooks. p 64
Cundall, P., (ed.), 2004, Gardening Australia: flora: the gardener's bible. ABC Books. p 1040
Facciola, S., 1998, Cornucopia 2: a Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, p 169
Farrar, J.L., 1995, Trees of the Northern United States and Canada. Iowa State University press/Ames p 106
Grandtner, M. M., 2008, World Dictionary of Trees. Wood and Forest Science Department. Laval University, Quebec, Qc Canada. (Internet database http://www.wdt.qc.ca)
Hedrick, U.P., 1919, (Ed.), Sturtevant's edible plants of the world. p 494 (Possibly as Picea nigra)
Hibbert, M., 2002, The Aussie Plant Finder 2002, Florilegium. p 233
Kermath, B. M., et al, 2014, Food Plants in the Americas: A survey of the domesticated, cultivated and wild plants used for Human food in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean. On line draft. p 655
Little, E.L., 1980, National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees. Alfred A. Knopf. p 284
Moerman, D. F., 2010, Native American Ethnobotany. Timber Press. p 400
Plants for a Future database, The Field, Penpol, Lostwithiel, Cornwall, PL22 0NG, UK. http://www.scs.leeds.ac.uk/pfaf/
Porsild, A.E., 1974, Rocky Mountain Wild Flowers. Natural History Series No. 2 National Museums of Canada. p 36
Prelim. cat. 71. 1888
MacKinnon, A., et al, 2009, Edible & Medicinal Plants of Canada. Lone Pine. p 30