In elementary school, every child learns: Conifers don't have leaves, but rather narrow needles. Only deciduous trees have more or less broad leaves. You can read that this statement is not entirely correct in the following article: Firstly, there are actually coniferous tree species with leaves and secondly, needles are also leaves - they are just as capable of photosynthesis as any other foliage.
Are there conifers with broad leaves?
There are actually conifers with leaves, such as the kauri trees (Agathis) or various yew plants (Podocarpaceae) such as Afrocarpus gracilior and Podocarpus latifolius. These have broad, flat leaves and not the typical needle-shaped leaves.
Needles are also leaves
The main task of a tree is photosynthesis, in which sunlight is absorbed with the help of chlorophyll and converted into usable energy. It is also this chlorophyll that turns plants green - regardless of whether they are deciduous or coniferous trees, shrubs, flowers or algae. As a result, the needles of conifers, as conifers are called in Latin, are also simple leaves. They are just shaped differently than those of deciduous trees. For this reason, botanists do not speak of “needles”, but rather of a “needle leaf” or “needle-shaped leaf”.
Exotic: conifer with leaves
By the way, there are actually conifers that do not produce typical needles, but rather more or less broad leaves. A typical example of this are the Kauri trees (Agathis), native to Southeast Asia, New Zealand and Australia, whose dark green leaves are flat, elongated-oval in shape and quite wide at the base. There are around 17 different species, which cannot be cultivated here. Some rock yew plants (Podocarpaceae) also have little resemblance to needles, such as the Afro yellowwood (Afrocarpus gracilior), which is native to East Africa, or the broad-leaved rock yew (Podocarpus latifolius), which grows in South Africa. We also do not cultivate these species.
A leafy tendril grows out of the conifer – what’s behind it?
However, if spiky shoots with broad leaves suddenly grow from your conifer, then it is most likely mistletoe. This plant is an evergreen, parasitic species that is often found in clumps in the treetops in some regions. Sometimes, however, these food parasites also live in the middle of the tree trunk (so-called “full parasites”), so that their leafy shoots appear to outgrow the actual conifer. We have a very common white-berry mistletoe (Viscum album L.), which grows extremely slowly and primarily affects deciduous trees as well as firs and pines.
Tip
In general, the needle shapes and colors of conifers are very varied. There are long and short needles, thick and thin, soft and sharp, green, blue and yellow
