The red spruce was a plant native to the planet Sphinx in the Manticore System. It was evergreen, with scaled, very dark blue-green leaves and a pyramidal form. Its seedpods were smoother than those of the near-pine, with the seeds themselves tasting bitter to humans. It got its human name from the almost russet color of its wood, which was prized for decorative woodwork. The average height of a fully matured red spruce was about 17 meters (56 feet). Its treecat name was gray-bark. (SK3)