Common Name: PINE FAMILY
Habit: Shrub, tree, evergreen; monoecious. Stem: young crown conic; twig not grooved, resinous, generally persistent. Leaf: simple, generally alternate, sometimes in bundles or appearing +- 2-ranked, linear or awl-like; base decurrent, woody or not, persistent several years. Pollen Cone: generally < 6 cm, not woody, deciduous. Seed Cone: generally woody; bracts, scales generally persistent; scale not peltate, fused to or free from subtending bract. Seed: 2, on scale base adaxially.
Genera In Family: 10 genera, 193 species: generally northern hemisphere; many of great commercial value, supplying > 1/2 of world's timber.
eFlora Treatment Author: J. Robert Haller, Nancy J. Vivrette, & James R. Griffin, except as noted
Scientific Editor: Thomas J. Rosatti, Bruce G. Baldwin.

Common Name: SPRUCE
Stem: crown conic; young branches appearing whorled, drooping or not; bark thin, scaly; twig with persistent, peg-like, spreading, < 2 mm leaf bases, glabrous or hairy; bud conic to ovoid, resinous. Leaf: often crowded toward upper side of twigs, generally < 3 cm, sessile, +- 4-angled or flat, stiff, often strong-smelling when crushed. Seed Cone: conspicuously terminal or not, pendent, 5--12 cm, maturing 1st year; stalk 0--1 cm; bract included, +- free from scale. Seed: wing terminal. Chromosomes: 2n=24.
Etymology: (Latin: pitch) Note: Trunks, especially of Picea sitchensis, more flared or buttressed at base than other California conifers.
eFlora Treatment Author: J. Robert Haller, Nancy J. Vivrette, & James R. Griffin