Identifying Conifers with Leaves Arranged Radially

Spruces (Picea sp.) have needles which are usually four-sided, and which are attached to the shoot by woody pegs.

See Yew-like needles for flat-needled Firs (Abies sp.) and Douglas Fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii).

Junipers (Juniperus sp.) usually have juvenile foliage, which consists of sharp, stiff needles arranged in whorls of three or in pairs, with one or two white bands on the inner surface; they also have berry-like drupes. Common Juniper, usually seen in gardens as the fastigiate Irish Juniper, has needles in threes with a single white band; Cox's Juniper has weeping sprays with leaves with single white bands; Meyer's Juniper has two white bands on the inside of each leaf.

Looking a little like junipers, but with leaves individually arranged round the shoot, are the fine-needled ‘Elegans’ cultivar of Japanese Red Cedar and the juvenile-foliaged ‘Plumosa’ and ‘Squarrosa’ cultivars of Sawara Cypress.

The type Japanese Red Cedar has rather more fleshy leaves and is best identified by its highly distinctive cones; the three rare Athrotaxis species are somewhat similar, as is the rare Taiwania with fiercely-pointed needles.

 
 

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Copyright © 2007 Philip Brassett