The Pines vs. The Spruces! Who will win?

So today on the ol' Instagram account I posted this pick of a Bosnian Pine and a Blue Spruce. It seems most people around here call any kind of a conifer a "pine". And that's fine if you are Type B. But if you are Type A (like me), and prefer things labeled correctly then you might want to know the difference. The easiest way is to look at how the needles are presented. A pine tree will hold multiple needles (usually 2, 3, or 5) in a sheath that attaches to a branch.

A spruce will have each needle attached directly to the branch with a foot. Spruce needles also have 4 sides (which is how you can distinguish it from firs, they have two). Spruces are usually kind of prickly, too, if you want to do the touch test.

We can talk about firs another time. This is enough for today. Good job.