Which tree sheds needles for the winter? Which coniferous trees shed needles for the winter Does coniferous plants shed their needles

Discard needles as they die, especially in spring, without exception, all coniferous trees. Only cedar can really be called evergreen, it grows where there is never winter and frost. And in winter, larch needles drop to the ground. Its needles are thick, but soft compared to spruce or pine. By autumn, the needles on the larch turn into a soft golden color, and by the beginning of winter they fall off like ordinary leaves in all of our familiar hardwood trees. It is for this property that the tree got its name.

About larch.

Larch is not demanding on the soil, it is not afraid of blizzards and severe frosts, it does not break its branches and strong winds. Larch has a very strong and so heavy wood that it sinks in water. Meanwhile, it larch was previously used to build ships. Its wood has a lot of resin and therefore it does not rot for a long time. And in the old days, larch wood was used to build houses standing on wet grounds, and until now, a floor made of larch is considered the best, second only to oak and beech in quality.

A coniferous tree sheds needles for the winter to protect itself from winter frosts, keep moisture. With the word "coniferous" comes an association with plants that remain evergreen, such as Christmas trees. However, botanists will not agree with this statement.

A coniferous tree that sheds its needles

Coniferous trees are characterized by a periodic change of needles. This is a gradual renewal of trees, which does not occur in a specific season, but throughout the year. Coniferous trees that shed their needles include:

Larch

Deciduous coniferous tree, which is common in Western and Central Europe. It grows in the Alps and Carpathians, located at altitudes from 1000 to 2500 meters above sea level. Its height reaches 50 meters, and the diameter of the trunk is 1 meter. But dozens of decorative forms have been bred, including dwarf ones, which will decorate the garden without taking up much space. They plant it in public places in several groups, in alleys or in yards. Unlike other representatives, the needles are not sharp, soft and break easily when pressed. At the same time, the wood of this conifer is one of the strongest in the world.

It is characterized by the following properties:

frost-resistant;
unpretentious to the soil;
adapts well to urban conditions.

Larch is a coniferous tree that drops its needles for the winter. This feature appeared as a result of its adaptation to the harsh climate and low temperatures. Thus, it spends a minimum amount of energy in the winter cold.

swamp cypress

The second type of coniferous tree that sheds its needles for the winter is swamp cypress or taxodium. It got this name due to the fact that it grows next to the swamps in the forest. It is no coincidence that it was also called cypress. The spherical cones of this plant strongly resemble the inflorescences of a real cypress. The difference is in density. In ordinary cypress, the cones are hard and strong, while in taxodium, they easily crumble in the hands when pressed.

The main feature of the tree is the presence of pneumatophores. They understand the root system, which does not grow down, but up. From the outside it is an impressive sight. They help the taxodium to breathe, as air enters the processes through the respiratory roots. This is vital for the tree, since the soil of the swamps is not intended for growing plants, and excess water and lack of oxygen can have a detrimental effect on further growth.

Taxodium would not exist without pneumatophores. Thanks to them, it grows quietly in areas covered with water for several months. In such conditions, the respiratory roots are located above the water level and supply the swamp cypress with air. The maximum possible height is 3 meters.

There are two types of taxodium:

taxodium two-row;
taxodium mexican.

The homeland of the double-row taxodium is the southeast of North America, Mexico. It was brought to Europe in the middle of the 17th century. Cultivated as a park plant and forest species. Reaches 50 meters in height. It tolerates temperatures down to minus thirty degrees.

The height of an adult tree is 30-45 meters, the trunk in diameter is up to three meters. The needles are bright green. In autumn, the leaves turn red, acquire a golden-orange hue, then fall off along with young shoots.

Mexican taxodium grows only in Mexico at an altitude of 1400-2300 meters above sea level. The average life expectancy of such a tree is 600 years. Some specimens live up to 2000 years. At the same time, their height is 40-50 meters, the diameter of the trunk is 9 meters.

Swamp cypress is a valuable material for the construction of houses, in the manufacture of furniture. Its wood is durable, has good mechanical properties, and is resistant to decay.

metasequoia

Belongs to the cypress family. Distributed in areas of Hubei province. Needles up to 3 centimeters in size change color depending on the arrival of a particular season. For example, in spring they are light green, darken in summer, and turn yellow before falling off. They begin to grow late, around the end of May.

Characteristic features of metasequoia:

easy to propagate by both cuttings and seeds;
reaches up to 40 meters in height and up to 3 meters in width;
durable - some representatives live up to 600 years;
shade-tolerant, but prefers open places for growth;
distributed in mountainous areas and along rivers;
unpretentious to temperature conditions, but feels ideal in the humid subtropics.

Why larch sheds needles

The main reason for dropping needles is to protect yourself in winter period. It grows in harsh environments where other trees no longer grow. Dropping needles, it gets rid of excess moisture, because the root system does not absorb moisture from frozen soil. Thus, dropping needles helps to painlessly survive severe frosts in winter.

Features of larch wintering:

dropping of needles begins at the end of September, which allows living to the north of relatives;
with the help of shedding, it protects itself from drying out, which is characteristic of coniferous trees when the soil freezes in winter;
in winter falls into a kind of hibernation, development slows down and resumes only in the spring.

Why don't conifers freeze in winter?

Each tree absorbs carbon dioxide and produces oxygen. This process is called photosynthesis, which requires a bright sunlight and abundant watering. In winter, this can be a problem, because daylight hours become shorter, and moisture is provided only by covered snow.

Conclusion

It is believed that larch is the only coniferous tree that gets rid of thorns that have grown over the summer for the winter. Larch developed such a unique mechanism for conifers as an adaptation to a sharply colder climate. Larch is a very beautiful tree with valuable timber. There are several of its species, the easternmost of which, the Kaempfer larch, lives in Japan.

The pine family includes not only our beloved pine. The pine family includes larch, a tree with needles instead of leaves. They called larch by that name, because a tree with needles sheds its needles, like a birch its leaves, like aspen, poplar, maple and any other deciduous tree. So we answer that larch remains in autumn without needles. But the larch remains without needles in the second year of its life, in the first year the larch overwinters with needles. Scientists believe that this is how adaptation to a harsh climate occurs.

Dropping needles different types larches in different time. Observations show that the Siberian larch remains without needles by the end of October, the American larch remains without needles in November.

Answer left Guest

Larch sheds all its foliage-needles in autumn. Before falling, the needles turn yellow. At present, there is reason to believe that the ancestors of our larches were evergreen trees and that its leaf fall is already a secondary adaptation. This is indicated to us, for example, by the fact that the needles on annual shoots of larch usually overwinter and persist until the next of the year; thus this tree, in the earliest phases of its development, behaves for the most part like an evergreen; in nature, we very often encounter such a phenomenon that some organ or some feature of an organism that its ancestors had, but later lost in the process of evolution, manifests itself in the early stages of individual development.

Coniferous trees and their features

Conifers have long and firmly occupied a special place in landscape gardening culture, thanks to their unpretentiousness and durability. Green spaces look spectacular in winter under a snow cap, which only increases their level of attractiveness.

However, it is worth remembering that not all trees of this group are evergreen. So larch, metasequoia and swamp cypress shed their needles with a decrease in temperature. In the rest of the representatives, the leaves fall off gradually and non-simultaneously. Moreover, the fall does not depend on the season.

The benefits of conifers include:

Actively used in traditional and alternative medicine;
Thanks to natural correct form, practically do not need crown formation;
A variety of shapes and types, which makes it possible to use in garden plots of various sizes;
Good tolerance of lack of water and light.

Coniferous trees with needles falling for the winter

But is this tree alone shedding needles for the winter? Are there any other conifers that behave in a similar way? A person unfamiliar with botany will not answer these questions. Meanwhile, among conifers there are deciduous trees and except larch. Some of them can be seen in the Batumi Botanical Garden.

Here is the first one. In winter, it is very similar in appearance to larch. However, a careful eye will notice that there is not a single cone on the tree. Under the tree, there are a lot of some kind of rhombic slightly thickened woody plates. Here you can also find winged seeds, reminiscent of pine and spruce seeds, only somewhat larger.

It is easy to guess that rhombic plates are nothing more than scales of cones that have fallen from a tree. Consequently, the cones crumble when ripe, like a real cedar. And if so, then this is not a larch (her cones never crumble and hang “whole” on the branches for a long time). Before us is a completely different plant - the false Kaempfer larch (Pseudolarix kaempferi).

The second deciduous coniferous tree is two-row taxodium, or swamp cypress (Taxodium distichum). His homeland North America. The tree is named swamp cypress because it often grows in swamps. It is also called cypress not by chance: its spherical cones resemble the cones of a real cypress.

Swamp cypress has a rare ability to develop special respiratory roots, the so-called pneumatophores. Unlike ordinary roots, they grow upward, rising above the ground. Appearance they are very peculiar - thick, woody processes of a bizarre shape, looking either like skittles or some kind of knotty bottles.

Respiratory roots are composed of very light, porous wood, although quite strong; a channel runs inside. They are vital for the plant importance. Through these processes, air penetrates to the root system of the tree, hidden in the marsh soil. And the soil of swamps is very unfavorable for plant life due to excess water and lack of oxygen.

Despite their fellow conifers larch sheds her needles every fall. A beautiful tree, the needles are not soft, fluffy, not prickly at all, and the wood is considered one of the strongest. It should be noted that all the same, all conifers renew their needles - the old ones fall, new ones grow, but this happens throughout the year and they stay green all year.

This tree is called larch. It, like deciduous trees, sheds its needles in autumn, like trees leaves. First, the needles on the larch turn yellow. and then it starts to fall off. So the tree is renewed and in the spring begins to grow stronger.

It is believed that larch is the only coniferous tree that gets rid of thorns that have grown over the summer for the winter. Larch developed such a unique mechanism for conifers as an adaptation to a sharply colder climate. Larch is a very beautiful tree with valuable wood. There are several of its species, the easternmost of which, the Kaempfer larch, lives in Japan.

However, there are still coniferous trees that can shed needles for the winter - these are metasequoia and swamp cypress, both trees of the cypress family. Both plants live in America and, in terms of the appearance of the needles, bear little resemblance to the conifers we are used to.

Many coniferous trees remain green and lush all year round.

But not all coniferous plants evergreen. Among them there are those who shed their needles for the winter.

These include:

This is larch. So they called E that in autumn she sheds her needles like foliage. In the spring, it again dresses in its leaves (needles). An amazing tree. Young needles are not light, but during the summer they acquire a darker shade.
Recently I was on an excursion, because they were just talking about larch, which turns yellow in autumn and sheds its needles. And in the spring she has new, green ones. So a coniferous tree that drops its needles in autumn is a larch.
I think naked larch stands in winter) and in spring new green needles begin to crawl out. And besides, they are tasty)))) sour ones.
The pine family includes not only our beloved pine. The pine family includes larch, a tree with needles instead of leaves. They called the larch by that name, because a tree with needles sheds its needles, like a birch its leaves, like an aspen, poplar, maple and any other deciduous tree. So we answer that larch remains in autumn without needles. But the larch remains without needles in the second year of its life, in the first year the larch overwinters with needles. Scientists believe that this is how adaptation to a harsh climate occurs.
Different types of larches shed their needles at different times. Observations show that the Siberian larch remains without needles by the end of October, the American larch remains without needles in November.
Indeed, not all trees that are commonly called conifers are evergreen. The most famous coniferous tree that sheds leaves (in this case, needles) in autumn is larch. They also drop needles - pseudolarches, taxodium, metaseva and glyptostrobuses.
mostly coniferous plants are evergreen, that is, leaves - needles - needles remain on the plant for several years (from 2 to 40). but there are 5 genera of conifers, which, having dropped their leaves, the needles hibernate naked, these are larch, pseudolarch, glyptostrobus, metasequoia and taxodium.
Only larch from coniferous trees sheds needles for the winter, since the rest of the trees: fir, spruce, cedar and pine overwinter with needles and are therefore called evergreen.
Larch forests are very common in Russia and this tree is the main one in the construction of wooden houses, since larch wood is heavily impregnated with resin and therefore does not rot well.