Medicinal Monday - White Spruce

Picea glauca or white spruce is a cold- hardy evergreen native to North America and occurs naturally as far north as Newfoundland. This tree can be found throughout New England. This beautiful evergreen tree is steeped in ancient myth and magic. In Greek mythology, the Spruce tree was dedicated to Artemis, the Greek Goddess of the Moon and the Hunt, in Gaelic tradition, spruce trees are sacred to Druantia, the eternal mother goddess, and in Native American tribes in the Southwest, spruce trees symbolized the sky, and Salavai, an ancient medicine man, chose to become a spruce tree. Native Americans and First People of Canada found several interesting medicinal uses for the white spruce tree. This tree is not fussy and grows in a wide range of environments.

About White Spruce

White spruce is native to the northern parts of North America and Canada and is believed to be one of the first tree species to grow after the glaciers receded. White spruce trees usually live between 250 and 350 years, but trees up to 1,000 years have been documented. The White Spruce tree is an important tree woven into the fabric of North America. White Sprice is a large tree with a narrow crown and a pyramidal shape that can grow up to 150 feet tall. The leaves or needles are four-sided, sharp, and stiff. They grow in a spiral on the branches of the tree. What makes these needles unique is that they grow out of the branch from a strong woody peg. They are whitish-green and smell like a skunk when young, and as they mature, the needles become more pleasant smelling. The seed cones are light brown and hang from the upper branches. The scales of the pine cone have a smooth rounded outer edge. Pollen cones are a pale red. The bark is loose, scaley, and greyish-brown.

Medicinal Uses of White Spruce

One of the most common medicinal uses of the white spruce tree was to strip the bark and needles from the trees, boil them in water, and drink this mixture to cure various ailments from coughs and colds to scurvy and rheumatism. Most often the resin was combined with grease or lard and was used to treat wounds and infections. The Abnaki made an infusion of the cones to treat urinary trouble and the Algonquin chewed the inner bark to treat coughs, they also made an infusion of the tips of the branches and used the mixture to heal the insides. The Chippewa made a decoction of the twigs and used them as an herbal steam for rheumatism. The Cree found many uses for the white spruce tree. They made a poultice from the resin to treat blood poisoning, they made a mixture of resin and lard and used it as an ointment to treat skin irritations, and they would grind rotten dry wood into a powder and use it as a dusting powder on babies to treat rashes. 

The Eskimo Inuktitut made a decoction of the gum and took it for respiratory infections, they also made a poultice of the resin to treat wounds. The Gitksan made a decoction of the inner bark to treat the flu and the Iroquois would chew the resin-like gum to facilitate digestion. The Koyukon made an infusion of the needles to treat kidney problems. They also believed that trees took away the power of evil spirits and thought that sleeping under them offered protection. The Micmac used parts of the tree for stomach trouble and would also make a tonic from the bark, leaves, and stems to treat scurvy. The Ojibwa made a compound of the outer bark to treat diarrhea and used the dried leaves as a fumigator. The Shuswap chewed the hardened pitch of the white spruce tree to clean their teeth and the Tanana made tea from the tree tops and combined it with the tips of young birch trees and drank it to treat body aches. Young Tanana girls would use twigs to clean their teeth and scratch their heads.

Practical Uses of White Spruce
There are so many practical uses for the white spruce tree. The roots of the spruce were used as lashing for canoes, baskets, and other weaving projects in many Eastern tribes.  The roots of the spruce tree were divided and woven into baskets that could hold water. The roots were also used to sew baskets and canoes.  The resin was used to seal canoes. Spruce wood was steamed and bent and used to line the inside of a canoe.  The wood was also used to make handles. It was also an important fuel source. 

Many Native American and First Peoples communities made snowshoe frames out of saplings of White Spruce and sometimes used the wood to make bows. The bark was used to make cooking pots and trays to gather berries. Many tribes used the wood to make canoe paddles and the bark to make flooring or roofs. Dead stands of trees were used to make a moose hide stretcher and small pieces of wood were used to make floats for fishing nets. The needles were sometimes used as flooring in wigwams as well as to make pillows and bedding, they were also burned to keep bugs away. The Tanana would eat the fresh sap during the summer and the cambium was used as a food in times of food shortages.

Did You Know...

The genus Picea is the Latin word given to all pine trees. It originated from the Greek word pissa, meaning pitch. 

The word Glauca comes from the Greek word glaukos which translates to bright milky, grayish, or sparkling.

One name this tree goes by is skunk spruce because when the needles are crushed they give off a mild skunk-like odor.

Other names this tree goes by include cat spruce, single spruce, western white spruce, pasture spruce, Adirondack spruce, and Canadian spruce.

White spruce trees provide cover for moose, martens, and lynx.