Black Spruce Wood

Black Spruce is a majestic conifer ranging in height from of 8 to 25 meters. These trees look after our Canadian forests from coast to coast, because this conifer grows where other species cannot grow. Favoring moist, sandy or peaty soils, this tree covers North America mainly from Canada’s Far North to the edge of the low Arctic tundra, as well as the northeastern United States. Its twigs are rough and its frayed bark is reddish brown when young and darker when mature. Its greyish-green needles are straight and tight along its branches. Its fruit is a small purple cone that changes to light brown. Of the forty varieties of spruce, it is the most resistant to very cold climates. It can withstand up to -60 degree Celsius temperatures according to some studies. Without its biggest enemy, which is fire, this tree could live up to 280 years.

Native people have been using many medicinal plants from the boreal forest for thousands of years for healing purposes. This knowledge is generally held as a form of oral tradition. Cree from the woodlands used Black Spruce as an anti-diarrheal medication by making infusions from the cones. At other times the needles and cones were used to treat diabetes. For burns, they made balms from Black Spruce resin and chewed on cones to relieve toothache.

The Montagnais used it to prepare infusions for sore throats and coughs. Amerindian children chewed the resin to keep their teeth white. They attributed powerful anti-scurvy properties to black spruce.
Used mainly to build settlers’ dwellings, the tree was also used to brew spruce beer, made from the needles, cones and molasses. Under the pretext of preventing scurvy, this beverage flowed freely at clergy parties!

In 1772, the English physician, Henry Taylor, discovered a method to extract the essential oil from the spruce and recommended it for respiratory diseases. Dr. Taylor is also the founder of the first distillery in Québec City.

• Frère Marie-Victorin, Rouleau Ernest, Brouillet Luc et collaborateurs, Flore laurentienne 3e édition, Gaëtan Morin Éditeur ltée, 2002.
• Moerman Daniel E., Native American Ethnobotany, Timber Press, Portland, Oregon, 1998.