Conifers, as many people know, have cones but no flowers. The balsam fir is a flat, friendly fir. It has single needles coming off each side of the twig. The bark is a grayish color with bumps.
Balsam firs are extremely abundant in the under story as seedlings and are shade tolerant.
The white spruce is sharp with needles extending all around the twig. Each needle has a square cross-section. The bark is a brownish-gray color and is somewhat flaky. The needles of this spruce are 1.5 to 2 times longer than those of the black spruce. This conifer is also shade tolerant and can live over 400 years.