It is important to know, first of all, the etymological origin of this word. And that leads us to determine that it derives from Latin, specifically, from “abies” – “abietis”, which was how a plant species of the Pinacea family was formerly called.
A spruce is a tree belonging to the family of abietáceas or pináceas. It is a genus (Abies) that includes more than fifty species, between primary and secondary species.
Fir trees are characterized by their great height: they can exceed 50 meters and reach, in certain cases, up to 80 meters. Its trunk, which has a whitish bark, grows straight and ends in a conical cup. The fruit of the fir is a cylindrical pineapple.
Typically, spruce grows in high ground and rather cold weather. Firs can be found in forests in North America, Europe and Asia. By their characteristics, firs resemble cedars.
It should be noted that fir wood is used in the construction field despite not having much resistance capacity. Its color and size, however, make it valuable for the development of frames and doors. On the other hand, when it is installed outdoors, the fir wood has a reduced durability since it usually undergoes rapid rotting processes or is attacked by insects.
In many countries, firs are used as Christmas trees. In this way, they are decorated with ornaments, garlands and lights. Tradition indicates that the Christmas fir tree is decorated on December 8 (Day of the Virgin or Immaculate Conception) and continues to decorate until January 6 (Three Kings Day).
In addition to all the above, it is worth highlighting other characteristics of the fir, among which the following stand out:
-It produces odorous resin in quite a quantity.
-The leaves that it has are flat, have quite stiffness and are also identified by their small size. It is precisely these signs of identity that make many people consider them to be beautiful, from an aesthetic point of view, and that, therefore, fir trees are the best options to give vitality and elegance to their gardens.
-Since the 8th century this tree is considered to be sacred, as determined by Saint Boniface when in an act of force that he carried out with trees the only one that did not fall was the one in question. Hence perhaps the fact that it is used to decorate homes at Christmas, when the birth of Jesus is celebrated, is explained.
-It has the particularity that it has a great capacity to adapt to both the climate and the type of soil. Hence, it is established that its care and maintenance is very easy. However, it is advisable to locate it on land with notable humidity, making it an ideal tree for high mountain areas.
