Emily Dickinson Lexicon

SPRUCE, n.

The fir-tree; a name applied to all the species of that section of the Linnæan genus Pinus, which are comprehended under Abies, and likewise to some that are comprehended under Peuce. This term however belongs more especially to Pinus Abies or Norway spruce, a native of the north of Europe. In the United States it is applied to Pinus nigra, Pinus alba, and Pinus rubra, which are used in families to give flavor to beer. They are used by way of decoction, or in the form of extract.