Picea abies

Abeto rojo

Nombre oficial: Abeto rojo 

Familia: Pinaceae

History

Picea, from the family of the abietáceas, comes from the Greek "peuke", which means "fish", resin that emanates from the trunk once cut. The word pine or spruce comes from the Latin "spina" which means "spine" because of its needles reminiscent of spines. The red fir owes its name to the red-bruno color of the trunk and the pineapples in the form of pure, reddish also. Popularly, the different varieties of the families of the abietáceas, are known with the name of "pine." The Celts appreciated in a special way the firs, which they cited in the calendar and that went from January 2 to 11 and from 5 to July 14. The winter solstice, on December 21, was dedicated to the white fir and the vowel "A", named Ailm. During that special night, the days lengthened and since then it was considered as the tree of the genesis of light. The books of the Middle Ages clearly distinguish the different types of spruce, pine and larix, but which were intended for the same use.Lonicerus said that "the leaves of the boiled pines relieved the inflammation of the plagues and also the bad teeth; for hepatic patients, a little honey is added. The resin baked with honey is good for constipation, sore throats called angina, as well as all external injuries to the body. Botanical CharacteristicsThe spruce is a large tree with persistent leaves, which can exceed 60 meters in height, with a straight and steep trunk with a pyramidal top, with a relatively smooth and grayish bark and the branches arranged by floors, extended and intense green color. It is part of the family of conifers. Its roots are superficial and therefore harmful in case of storms. The bark, over the years, cracks and flakes. The first flowering takes place after thirty years. The male and female flowers are born from the same tree in the month of May. It forms plump pineapples of about 5 cm. of width, prolonged, erect on the branches of reddish color. With maturation, they darken, bend and detach. In the same year, the first pineapples mature at the top of the tree. Some species can live up to 600 years. Conifers suffer more than other species the pollution factor, acid rain and arid soils since these species do not have deciduous leaves. Some of its components, such as piceina and picéol, are considered stress substances of the tree, since they only occur under the effect of an unknown environmental threat. 

Habitat

The spruce grows in Central Europe to the great North. In the south, the limit is up to 40º parallel, and to the east, to the Volga. It grows at an altitude higher than 900 meters, often together with other species of leafy trees. At the moment it is cultivated also in plains where it begins to replace the silver fir.