: It seems that every tree species has a wack of common names. Some of the
: common names are what the locals use and some were developed by marketers
: to sell a product previously poorly regarded.

: Picea englemanii = Englemann spruce and/or white spruce in BC. Found at
: higher elevations in the Interior of BC, Alaska and Washington. The
: summary you quote is quite correct in that a lot of the white spruce is
: used in construction due to its tight grain and lack of twist/warp once
: kiln dried.

: Picea sitchensis = sitka spruce. A coastal species between sea level and
: ~300m along the coasts of Wasington, BC, and Alaska.

: So the moral of the story is that to be absolutely sure: fall the tree
: yourself,
: purchase by latin/scientific name only from reputable suppliers or
: invest in a high powered microscope and educate yourself in wood
: identification.

: grant

It only takes 10x magnification and this book.

Dave