Spruce, pine, and fir trees all belong to a class of conifers known as Pinopsida. These are evergreens that can be planted on a property for landscaping purposes.
However, being able to differentiate between these three is the starting point.
Join us as we compare spruce vs pine, and fir trees.
Basis For Comparison: Spruce Vs Fir Vs Pine
Evergreens may look alike for most people. As such, people always confuse one conifer for the other.
Here, we’ll be making the basic comparisons between these three varieties based on the needles, cones & branches, bark & growth habit as well as needle drop.
These features are key to determining or telling apart one tree variety from the next. Without further delay, let’s begin our discussion.
Cones & Branches
Conifers can be distinguished by their cones and branches.
These differences in cones and branch formation, however little help with identification of the plant you’re dealing with.
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Spruce
Spruce tree cones usually hang towards the ground. Unlike other conifer tree varieties, the cones or reproductive organs of spruce are smoother with a thin scale. They also develop a flexible shape.
In terms of branch formation, spruce tree branches grow in an upturned direction.
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Pine
In pines, cones hang towards the ground. When developing, these cones appear green but later turn black or reddish-brown. Mature pine tree cones are usually inflexible, woody, and stiff.
As regards pine tree branches, these too grow in an upturned manner. However, their numbers aren’t as much as those on spruce or fir trees.
What more? Branches usually grow from a circular and single area of the trunk.
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Fir
You can easily tell-apart fir tree cones from those of spruce or pine trees. This difference is easily noticeable from its unique formation. Unlike the other two which hang towards the ground, those of fir trees grow upwards.
Fir tree cones appear blue, purple, or green but turn golden brown when mature.
Fir tree branches form quite differently in the sense that they’re usually wider at the lower levels. Plus, they develop into a downturned shape.
Needles
One thing that is common to all three conifers is the needles they bear. However, the difference lies in their formation. This is one of the easiest ways to tell apart the different conifer varieties.
Let’s take a look at how such formations differ.
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Spruce
One of the ways to differentiate spruce tree needles from others involves taking a close look.
By picking or plucking up a needle, you’ll find that it’s square. This shape makes it easy to roll between your fingertips.
You’ll also find spruce needles to be stiff and short. All growth occurs from a single origin. These are fixed to tiny woody projections.
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Pine
In the case of pine trees, needles their needles are unique from the others. Pine tree needles can grow as much as 16 inches long and grow in clusters originating from a single point on branches.
The number of needle clusters found on pine trees is determined by the pine tree species. White pines usually have about 5 clusters, red pine needles always grow in clusters of 2, while yellow pine needles grow in clusters of 3.
When compared to those of other conifers, pine tree needles tend to grow much longer. When blown by the wind, pine needles make a characteristic whooshing sound.
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Fir
On close observation of fir tree needles, you’ll find out that these are flat and soft.
Unlike those of other conifers, fir tree needles bear two white stripes below each needle. You’ll find that fir tree needles also grow from a single point similar to spruce, but attach to branches in a different formation.
There’s a clear difference when plucking out a fir tree needle. You’ll notice that not woody projections are left behind.
Bark and Growth Habit
If you wish to further back up your findings by considering additional differences between spruce, pine, and fir trees, you may want to take a look at the bark.
Each of these conifers has a unique appearance as shown below.
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Spruce
True to their name (conifers) spruce tree grows in perfect conifer shape or formation. These trees may sometimes be confused with Christmas trees due to their shape.
When you take a look at the bark, you’ll see that they’re scaly and rough. This is mostly due to the needle support structures or woody projections.
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Pine
Immature or young pine trees mostly possess smooth barks.
As the years roll by, such smooth barks increasingly become flaky. Pine trees are easily distinguished from other conifers through their rounded canopy formation.
These take the form of loose triangular patterns, thus the name “jagged lollipops.”
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Fir
With fir trees, you need the other characteristics listed earlier to support your observations. This is because there’s little differentiation of these trees compared to the others in terms of the bark formation.
Nevertheless, a few distinguishing factors will suffice.
In terms of shape, fir trees can easily be confused with spruce. However, slight variations such as the wider spaces between branches will tell them apart.
If you take a look at the bark of young fir trees, you’ll find that they’re usually gray and smooth. This changes as they grow. With time, such barks become furrowed.
Needle Drop
Like most trees, conifers also shed needles.
While this may be slow at certain times, it’s largely a quick event that happens in fall. Now, each conifer species has its unique way of dropping needles.
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Spruce
The color change before needle drop in spruce isn’t as pronounced as in pines. This doesn’t happen all the time and may sometimes not show at all.
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Pine
Pines have the most visible or observable color changes before a needle drop. These needles tend to remain for a period of 1 to 3 years after which these older needles begin to turn yellow-brown before dropping.
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Fir Trees
The color changes preceding a needle drop are minimal for fir trees. This is quite similar to spruce and occasionally show.
We’ve been comparing these conifers to help you easily identify them.
Spruce, pine, and fir trees can easily be mixed up or confused due to their similarities. You should have a better knowledge of how to go about identifying them.