How to Identify Trees By Their Needles and Twigs

Scotch Pine cones, needles, branches.

       It is not easy for the layman to tell one evergreen from another in normal Christmas tree sizes, because small trees often do not have cones (or "berries" in the case of junipers), which help to identify them. The bark also is not usually fully developed. However, the "needles" (leaves) and their arrangement on the twig, plus the buds, are often enough. Following are brief descriptions of 17 of the more common Christmas trees. Emphasis here is placed on needle identification. 

       If the leaves are scalelike, the tree could well be a red cedar or a white-cedar. If the leaves are needlelike and in clusters of two, three, or five, it is a pine. If the leaves are not in clusters, that is, if they are attached singly along the twig or branch, the tree could be either a fir or spruce. If the twigs are roughened by hard peglike leaf-bases, if the cones hang down, and if the leaves are stiff, are sharp pointed on their ends, and are not flat, it could well be a spruce. On the other hand, if the twigs are smooth and show oval scars where old leaves fell off, and if the leaves are flat, the tree probably is one of the firs. 

Scotch pine (Pinus sylvestris), with enough open space, grows into a shapely tree (as do other evergreens grown under similar conditions) and so is very popular and brings a good price to growers. It Scotch pine. (About one-third natural size)responds nicely to pruning and shearing and thus can be made bushy, which is very desirable. Like nearly all pines, it is fast growing and has needles considerably longer than those of Balsam fir, Douglas-fir, and Spruce. Scotch pine needles are in clusters of two, blue green in color, usually twisted, and from 11/2 to 3 inches long. Cones are not common on trees of Christmas tree size. When found, they are yellow brown, 112 to 212 inches long, turned back on the branch, with minute prickles on the cone scales. 

Douglas Fir, cone, needles
 and branches.

Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga men-ziesii, formerly Ps. taxifolia) has needles that are short stalked, soft and pliable, 34 to 114 inches long, dark yellow green or blue green. The needles are attached all around the twig instead of in the flat featherlike arrangement of balsam fir. The buds are reddish brown, narrowed at the tip and sharp-pointed, differing from the rounded blunt buds of true firs. If a Douglas-fir of Christmas tree size has cones, identification is easy, for they hang down, with long, 3-toothed, leaflike bracts sticking out conspicuously beyond the tips of the thin, rounded cone scales. The cones are light brown, from 2 to 4 inches long. The bark is dark or reddish brown. 

Balsam fir (Abies balsamea), has short needles-1/2 to 114 inches long-flat, dark green, and usually rounded at the tips. The needles are arranged feather-like on grayish, finely hairy twigs. The twigs resemble crosses; that is, the tiny twigs grow at approximate right angles to the branches. The bud tips are rounded and coated with a waxy pitch. Cones, when present, are attached up- right to the branch, and are 2 to 3 inches long, purple, often resinous. The bracts leaflike appendages between the cone scales are usually hidden. The balsam fir bark is gray or brown, thin, smoothish, often with many resin blisters. 

Balsam Fir, needles, cones and branches.

Most of the small (table-size) artificially colored Christmas trees seen on the markets at Christmas time are black spruce (Picea mariana), which have been painted. They come mostly from the swampy areas of northern Minnesota. The stiff, crowded, somewhat curved needles are 4- angled, short-1/4 to 5/8 inch long, and pale blue green. The twigs are hairy, and the cones small-34 to 114 inches long, dull gray brown, with rounded, stiff, slightly toothed scales. The bark is grayish brown and thin. are 

Immature cones of the Black Spruce, young needles.

Juniper or Eastern Red Cedar berries and branches.

Needle and cones of the Red Norway Pine

Eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana) is easy to recognize. Like its western cousins, the junipers, it has scalelike leaves and the fruit is berrylike. The scalelike leaves are only 1/16 inch long, dark blue green, but the leading shoots bear needlelike leaves up to 3% inch long. The leafy twigs are rounded or 4-angled, and slender. "Berries," if present, are dark blue and 1/4 to 3/8 inch in diameter. The bark is reddish brown, thin, fibrous, and shreddy. 

Red or Norway pine (Pinus resinosa) has slender needles, dark green, 5 to 6 inches long, and two to the cluster. Cones are about 2 inches long, light brown, without prickles. The bark is red- dish brown. It is a native of the Lake States, New York, northern New England and northern Pennsylvania, and is widely cultivated. there in plantations. Older trees are valuable for wood products and ornamentals. 

White Spruce cones and branches.

White spruce (Picea glauca) has incurved, sharp-tipped, blue-green needles, 4-angled, 1/2 to 1 inch long. When crushed in the fingers, the needles produce a disagreeable odor. The twigs are hairless. The cones are slender-112 to 2 inches long, pale brown, and shiny. Cone scales are thin, flexible, and rounded, with a smooth margin. The bark is gray or reddish brown and thin. This tree's natural range is slightly north of that of red pine. 

White (or concolor) fir (Abies concolor) grows into a very desirable Christmas tree. Since it is native to the West and does not do well in eastern climates, its use is confined largely to the western  U.S. Its needles are flattened, ir- regularly arranged, mostly curv- ing or spreading upward and out- ward, 11½ to 21½ inches long, and pale blue green. Cones on small trees are not common. They grow upright on the branch, 3 to 5 inches long, greenish, purple, or yellow. The bark is gray and smoothish. (In the trade, the name white fir is often used also for grand fir.) 

The Eastern and western white pines (Pinus strobus and Pinus monticola, respectively) are very much alike and can be grown into very desirable Christmas trees with proper management. needles of both are soft to the touch, dark blue green in color, with five needles to the cluster. The needles of the eastern white pine are very slender and flexible, 212 to 5 inches long, and the cones are long stalked, 4 to 8 inches long, yellow brown, with thin rounded. scales. The needles of the western F-19409-A white pine are stout, 2 to 4 inches long, and the cones are much like eastern white pine except 5 to 10 inches in length. The bark of both species is grayish green to dark green, thin and smooth on young trees. 

White Fir Trees in the mountains.

Eastern White Pine cone and it's needles.

Norway spruce tree, branches, needles and cones.

Norway spruce (Picea abies) was introduced from Europe so long ago that it has had time to reproduce itself through several generations. Its needles are 4- angled, dark green, and about 3/% to 1 inch long. The cones are 4 to 6 inches long and light brown, with thin, slightly pointed, irregu- larly toothed scales. The bark is reddish brown. 

Virginia pine needles and cone.

Virginia pine (Pinus virginiana) is common in several eastern states, from New Jersey to northern Alabama. Usually it is inexpensive. Since the needles give off a pleasing odor, many people prefer it for indoor use. Its needles are two in a cluster, stout, twisted, 112 to 3 inches long, and grayish or yellowish green. The twigs are purplish. Cones are sometimes seen on young trees. They are about 2 inches long, red- dish brown, shiny, and very prickly. The bark is dark red- dish brown, thin, and scaly. 

Southern pines include five species-longleaf, slash, loblolly, pitch, and shortleaf. They grow in the Southeastern States and are largely local-trade Christmas trees. The needles are much longer than those of the firs and spruces, and mostly in clusters of three. 

Longleaf Southern Pine cones and needles.

Longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) has needles that are slender and very long-10 to 15 inches, dark green, and three to the cluster. lts cones are large-5 to 8 inches long, dull brown, and prickly. Its bark is dark orange brown. 

Southern Slash Pine Cones.

The needles of slash pine (Pinus elliottii-formerly called P. caribaea) are stout, 8 to 12 inches long, dark green, mostly three in a cluster, though two in a cluster is not uncommon. Its cones are 3 to 6 inches long, shiny brown, with minute prickles. The bark is purplish brown. 

The loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) has slender needles that are long-6 to 9 inches-pale green, and three in a cluster. Its cones are 3 to 5 inches long, reddish brown with stiff, sharp prickles. The bark is reddish brown. 

The needles of pitch pine (Pinus rigida), are stiff, 3 to 6 inches long, dark yellow green, and three in a cluster. The cones are short and broad-12 to 3 inches long, light brown, shiny, with small prickles. The cones often remain on the branches several years after opening. 

The shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata) has the largest natural growing range of all the southern pines. Its needles are two and three to the cluster, slender, dark blue green, 22 to 5 inches long. The cones are small, 112 to 21/2 inches long, dull brown, with small prickles. The bark is reddish brown. 

Loblolly Pine cones resting in a dry bed of their own needles.

Pitch Pine Cones and Needles.

Short leaf pine seedlings show branch and needle type.

Red spruce (Picea rubens) Christmas trees can be easily confused with black spruce and white spruce, both previously mentioned. All are northeastern species. Red spruce needles are 4- angled, dark green and shiny, and about 1/2 inch long. The twigs are rather stout and more or less hairy. Cones, if present, are 114 to 11½ inches long, light reddish brown, and shiny, the stiff scales with rounded edges smooth or slightly toothed. The bark is reddish brown, thin, and irregularly scaly.

Red Spruce branches and short needles with tiny cones.