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Three Types of Evergreens

What are the three types of evergreen trees?

Goal:

Goal:

Evergreen trees are unique. While other trees are resting in the winter, evergreen trees stay green. The three different types of conifers, or evergreen trees, are fir, spruce, and pine. They look very similar, but their needles are different. Click on each picture to read about the differences between the three types of evergreens.

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pine tree branch with green needles and pine cones.

A pine tree has needles that come off the branch in groups of two, three, or five. If you look closely, you can see pairs of needles that connect to this branch.

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close up view of pine tree needles.

If the needles come off the branch individually, or each by itself, you might have a spruce tree. Spruce tree needles also will roll in your fingers because they are round or square, not flat. If you look closely, you can see that each needle comes off this branch by itself. The needles also look like you would be able to roll them between your thumb and finger.

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focused view on the tip of a pine branch and the individual needles.

Fir trees also have needles that come off the branch one at a time. From a distance, fir trees are hard to tell apart from spruce trees. If you take one of the needles off a fir tree and try to roll in between your thumb and finger, it won’t go easily. That is because the fir tree needles are flat instead of round or square.

Look around you. Can you see anything made from wood? How about paper? Wood and paper both come from trees. How many products made from trees can you find?

Question

What are the three different kinds of evergreen trees?

Firs, pines, and spruces are the three types of evergreen trees.