black spruce
1
6.1
- noun
- /blæk sprus/
- US
:
picea negra
- The black spruce thrives in the wet, lowland forests of northeastern North America.
- black spruce tree
- black spruce stand
Examples
-
They spotted a former access road, barely visible through the growth of black spruce and feathermoss.
Academic text (2012) -
The camera-wearing caribou mostly fed on ground and arboreal lichens and occupied black spruce habitats.
Academic text (2012) -
For nearly a year, she lived alone in a black spruce forest north of here.
Fiction book (1995) -
Gangly stands of black spruce stitch the planet to the sky.
Fiction book (1993) -
Not everything in the black spruce forest is a caribou deterrent.
Academic text (2012) -
Here, unlike in Canada and Montana, there is no jack pine; the dominant evergreens are white and black spruce.
Academic text (2001) -
Around the cabin are miles of black spruce forest and muskeg, with a line of snow-veined mountains in the distance.
Fiction book (1995) -
Here in Delta Junction, a stand of black spruce once cut a classic postcard profile against the snow-capped backdrop of the Alaska Range.
Academic text (2001) -
Black spruce and feathermoss form one habitat in boreal forest uplands.
Academic text (2012) -
As the sound intensified, we noticed a small black spruce tree being whipped back and forth by a forceful, swirling wind....
Academic text (2002)
Synonyms
19
3.5
A tall evergreen tree with needle-like leaves and cones found in northern regions
A small spruce tree with spreading branches and dense needles that grows in wet bogs in northern North America
A small evergreen tree that grows in wet bogs with dense branches and poor wood
An evergreen tree, a spruce, that grows in cool regions
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'black' modifies 'spruce', indicating a type/variety of spruce characterized by a dark colour or appearance. Colour adjective + noun naming is a common, cross-linguistic pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both words will understand this refers to a (dark) spruce tree or a species called black spruce.
Etymology
Black spruce is a simple name: black because its bark and needles look 'dark', and spruce because it is that kind of tree. That's why the name refers to the small, dark-looking spruce that grows in cold, boggy parts of North America.