Pine, Spruce (Pinus glabra)

Pine, Spruce is a domestic softwood

Location

Spruce pine (Pinus glabra), also known as cedar, poor, Walter, and bottom white pine, is classified as a minor species in the Southern Pine species group. Spruce pine grows most commonly on low moist lands of the coastal regions of southeastern South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, and northern and northwestern Florida.

Characteristics

The heartwood of spruce pine is light brown, and the wide sapwood is nearly white. Spruce pine wood is lower in most strength values than the wood of the major Southern Pine species group. Spruce pine compares favorably with the western true firs in important bending properties, crushing strength (perpendicular and parallel to grain), and hardness. It is similar to denser species such as coast Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) and loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) in shear parallel to grain.

Primary Uses

In the past, spruce pine was principally used locally for lumber, pulpwood, and fuelwood. The lumber reportedly was used for sashes, doors, and interior woodwork because of its low specific gravity and similarity of earlywood and latewood. In recent years, spruce pine has been used for plywood.

*Much of the base wood information presented here is made available by the USDA FPL FS. If you are interested in a much more technical description of wood properties, I encourage you to visit the source.