Identifying Evergreens

Above: this Eastern redcedar is forming new cones in the spring.

Many homeowners have evergreens in their home landscape. Evergreens provide a landscape service that other plants cannot – they add color to our landscapes in the winter, and provide some thermal protection for animals and birds. However, if you are researching potential evergreens for your landscape, you may be confused about species names and the botanical differences between them.

Identifying evergreens is a difficult task for most people, which is why many interchange the terms “evergreen” and “pine tree,” but we can also think of spruces, firs, hemlocks, and other species. Although I encourage planting native trees, I’ll cover several native and non-native evergreen species that may be planted or encountered in Indiana.

Let’s start with the basic aspects of pine trees. Pines have needles that are wrapped together in bundles (called fascicles) of 2, 3, or 5 needles, and their cones hang down from branches. Common 2-needled pines include (from shorter to longer needles) Jack pine, Virginia pine, Scots (or Scotch) pine, Austrian pine, and Red pine. 3-needled pines are somewhat rare in Indiana. Loblolly pine is one, and has very long needles, 6-9 inches long. We have one common 5-needled pine tree, the Eastern white pine.

Spruces have square needles borne singly on short pegs on the stem, and their cones hang down from branches. There are no native spruces in Indiana. From shorter to longer needles, you might encounter Black spruce, White spruce, Norway spruce, and Colorado blue spruce. Norway spruce is noticeable from a distance because its branchlets droop pendulously from the main branches.

Firs have soft, flexible, flattened needles borne singly on the stem. Cones grow upward on branches, rather than hanging down. You may encounter Balsam fir or White (Concolor) fir. Douglas-fir is not a true fir tree; it has hanging cones with 3-pointed bracts on the cone scales.

An evergreen with flat needles is Eastern hemlock. Unlike most other evergreens, it can tolerate some shade. Needles appear green on top and whitish underneath.

Evergreens with awl-like (short and pointy) or scale-like (imagine fish scales) needles include Eastern redcedar and Northern white-cedar (Arborvitae). Eastern redcedar is by far the most widely distributed native conifer in Indiana, with small, pale-blue, round cones. Northern white-cedar is used successfully in many Indiana landscapes. Columnar varieties are commonly used as a living fence.

Before we leave our discussion today, we should cover some additional terms and species.

Evergreens maintain their foliage all year, while deciduous trees lose their leaves each fall. Most evergreens are conifers (cone-bearing plants).

However, we have a few conifers that are deciduous trees, such as Baldcypress, Dawn redwood, and American/Eastern larch (also called Tamarack). Baldcypress and Dawn redwood have soft, flat needles, while Tamarack has many needles in a cluster on older growth, or just single needles on newer growth.

It should not come as a shock that native trees tend to thrive in their native environment. However, you may be surprised to learn that the list of native conifers in Indiana is relatively short. It includes Eastern redcedar, Jack pine, Eastern white pine, Virginia pine, Northern white-cedar, Eastern hemlock, Tamarack, and Baldcypress¹. Except for Eastern redcedar, most of the trees on this list are native only to limited areas of Indiana. Some non-native species are flexible in their site requirements and climate constraints, while other species may struggle to achieve longevity in our landscapes.

Finally, I realize that for many people, descriptions of trees are a poor substitute for good pictures or videos. There are many good field guides and tree identification books available. Digital sources include the Purdue Plant Doctor, and Purdue “ID That Tree” videos created by Purdue Extension Forester, Lenny Farlee.

¹ From native range maps in Native Trees of the Midwest, by Sally S. Weeks, Harmon P. Weeks, Jr., and George R. Parker.