Black Spruce can grow up to 100 feet tall and about 24 inches in diameter. However, most trees are smaller reaching about 50 feet and one foot in diameter. Black spruce can live 150-200 years. The white spruce has 1 inch needles but is very similar in other aspects. The needles grow all along the outer branches of the trees.
Young trees have a reddish or grayish-brown bark.
As the trees mature they grow large thin scales of bark. Black spruce are found through out the north eastern part of the United States and most of Canada. In the southern part of its range, which enclosed the border country, black spruce are usually found in wet, poorly drained, boggy areas. They are often found with Tamarack or white cedar. Farther north black spruce are found in moist nutrient rich soils, this is where the largest trees are found.