What is the difference between pine, fir, spruce? Here's a condensed way to see it (in theory). Try to register and link things at some pace.
At the beginning of timeEverything with pointy, evergreen leaves was labeled "Fir".
Prussia (that historical region in Central Europe that now stands divided) was famous for its fir. It was called "Prussian Fir".
"Pruce" became a contemporary term for Prussia. "Spruce" came as an alternative form of Pruce.
"Prussian Fir" now came to be referred to "Spruce Fir", or "Spruce" in short. Just a kind of fir from Northern Europe.
Alongside"Pinus" was a Latin term for the fir trees of their region.
The English who got a hard-on from Latin adopted Pinus (as "Pine"). So now there was a distinction between fir (rugged, northern kind) and pines (thin, but more solid kind).
And then...Then came scientific classification, and everything was taken under the "Conifer" umbrella. It included cypress, firs, pines, spruces among others. Basically anything with needle-like leaves and a resinous wood.
Scientific classification further included conifers, alongwith larches, hemlocks, cedars under the "Pinaceae" umbrella.
CurrentlyNow, the original pines are the genus 'pinus' species in the Pinaceae family. Clustered needles that have a sort of cuticle or “sheath” at the base.
The firs, which initially included everything, now came under the genus 'Abies'. Needles are flat, do not come in bunches and grow straight out of the branch without a stem.
Spruce came under genus 'Picea'. They were differentiated from the regular firs (Abies), in that their needles have a rectangular cross-section.
So...Pinaceae >> Conifer > Pines (Pinus) && Firs (Abies) && Spruce (Picea)
Yesss, brain dead!
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