Picea nigra

Spruce \Spruce\ (spr[udd]s), n. [OE. Spruce or Pruse, Prussia,
   Prussian. So named because it was first known as a native of
   Prussia, or because its sprouts were used for making, spruce
   beer. Cf. Spruce beer, below, {Spruce}, a.]
   1. (Bot.) Any coniferous tree of the genus {Picea}, as the
      Norway spruce ({Picea excelsa}), and the white and black
      spruces of America ({Picea alba} and {Picea nigra}),
      besides several others in the far Northwest. See {Picea}.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. The wood or timber of the spruce tree.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. Prussia leather; pruce. [Obs.]
      [1913 Webster]

            Spruce, a sort of leather corruptly so called for
            Prussia leather.                      --E. Phillips.
      [1913 Webster]

   {Douglas spruce} (Bot.), a valuable timber tree ({Pseudotsuga
      Douglasii}) of Northwestern America.

   {Essence of spruce}, a thick, dark-colored, bitterish, and
      acidulous liquid made by evaporating a decoction of the
      young branches of spruce.

   {Hemlock spruce} (Bot.), a graceful coniferous tree ({Tsuga
      Canadensis}) of North America. Its timber is valuable, and
      the bark is largely used in tanning leather.

   {Spruce beer}. [G. sprossenbier; sprosse sprout, shoot (akin
      to E. sprout, n.) + bier beer. The word was changed into
      spruce beer because the beer came from Prussia (OE.
      Spruce), or because it was made from the sprouts of the
      spruce. See {Sprout}, n., {Beer}, and cf. {Spruce}, n.] A
      kind of beer which is tinctured or flavored with spruce,
      either by means of the extract or by decoction.

   {Spruce grouse}. (Zool.) Same as {Spruce partridge}, below.
      

   {Spruce leather}. See {Spruce}, n., 3.

   {Spruce partridge} (Zool.), a handsome American grouse
      ({Dendragapus Canadensis}) found in Canada and the
      Northern United States; -- called also {Canada grouse}.
      [1913 Webster]