Conifers: TOP-40 trees and shrubs with names, descriptions
Evergreen crops do not lose their attractiveness throughout the year. Ephedra look very decorative and bring great he alth benefits, since the aroma they release helps to purify and improve the air. This is true both in winter and summer. In general, such plants are very unpretentious and easily tolerate the lack of water and light. Below is the TOP-40 coniferous plants - trees and shrubs with names.
Fir
This is a fast-growing evergreen that has become widespread in temperate latitudes. Fir is considered shade-tolerant crops and is often used to decorate summer cottages.It can be planted singly or in groups. For garden plots, small varieties are usually used, which perfectly complement rocky gardens and alpine slides.
Fir reaches 60-70 meters in height and lives 150-200 years. It is characterized by a rather dense pyramidal crown. With age, it becomes more cylindrical. The smooth trunk of the tree is covered with gray bark. At the same time, the needles are soft and flat. Cones reach a length of 5-10 centimeters and grow vertically.
Spruce
This plant has become widespread. It grows well in cold or temperate climates. This conifer can reach a height of 30-50 meters. It thrives well in moderately moist and slightly acidic soil. The culture grows well both in lighted areas and in a small shade. Spruces form coniferous forests and are often found in mountainous areas. They have a conical crown.Today, many ornamental varieties of such plants are known.
Spruce Belobok
Adult spruce of this variety reaches 3 meters in height and 2-3 in diameter. This culture has silver-blue needles. At the same time, yellow tips are characteristic of young shoots. After that, red cones 8-10 centimeters in size appear on the trees. Gradually they become darker. At this time, the Christmas tree looks very decorative.
Spruce Majestic Blue
This blue spruce is a small conifer that has sprawling branches. Their span reaches 4 meters. Dwarf varieties are actively used in landscape design. A distinctive feature of the plant is considered to be slow development. For a year, the culture increases by 8-10 centimeters. Spruce of this variety needs a sufficient amount of sun.In partial shade, the needles become duller.
Glauka Globoza
This culture has silver-blue needles. It reaches a height of 2 meters and has a spreading crown measuring 2-3 meters. The shoots are fluffy and horizontal. Glauka Globoza is distinguished by strong immunity and resistance to weather conditions. The culture is characterized by slow growth and retains its decorative effect all year round.
Pine
This evergreen crop contains a lot of resin. It is most commonly found in the Northern Hemisphere. Pine is considered undemanding to the ground. In addition, the plant is highly resistant to frost and drought.
Expert opinionZarechny Maxim ValerievichAgronomist with 12 years of experience. Our best gardening expert.Ask a QuestionThis culture is characterized by a fairly rapid development. For planting, seedlings aged 5-7 years are usually used, which can be planted in well-lit areas. Sun deficiency adversely affects the decorative properties of the plant. This leads to stretching of the shoots and blanching of the needles.Gnome mountain pine
This plant is a shrub 2-2.5 meters high. At the same time, the diameter of its crown reaches 1.5 meters. The plant has a spherical crown. With age, the lower branches of the plant drop, forming a dome. Pine needles Gnome has a green color. In the second year after planting, cones appear on the tips of the branches.
Cedar
This monoecious crop features needle-like, tufted foliage. Cedar lives for quite a long time - up to 500 years. Under natural conditions, the plant reaches 30-40 meters and has sprawling shoots.
3 types of cedars grow in Russia - Siberian, Korean pine and Siberian elfin.They are found in the Far East and Siberia. It is noteworthy that during the first hundred years the tree adds 40-50 centimeters per year. With age, the growth of a tree is reduced and is only 10 centimeters per year.
Tsuga
This plant is considered a real long-liver. In nature, it is found in the eastern part of North America - primarily in Canada. The name of the culture is translated as "Canadian" . The varieties bred by breeders are characterized by high shade tolerance.
Hemlock is a slender tree that reaches a height of 20-30 meters, or a stunted bush. The culture develops very slowly, but at the same time its life expectancy reaches 1000 years.
Hemlock is characterized by a multi-stage crown, which has a cone-shaped crown and horizontal branches. The plant has flattened dark green needles of small size. Gray-brown cones 25 millimeters in size are formed at the ends of the shoots.
Keteleeria
This plant belongs to the smallest genus of the Pine family. In nature, keteleeria grows on small mountains or hills. At the same time, the plant prefers a humid and warm climate.
This culture is quite rare, but it does not have significant decorative properties. In addition, keteleeria is considered a very light-loving culture. Therefore, it is rarely grown in summer cottages.
Adult plants reach a height of 30-40 meters. Moreover, their life expectancy is 100 years. The culture is characterized by a cone-shaped crown and an irregularly shaped trunk. The needles are flat and small. Narrow-cylindrical cones reach a length of 6-22 centimeters.
Larch
This plant is significantly different from other genera of the family, as it belongs to deciduous.Every year the tree sheds leaves that have turned into needles. Wild varieties are often planted in city parks and gardens. Cultivars are used to decorate suburban areas.
Larch is able to reach a height of 80 meters, but the average is 40-45 meters. The tree has a loose crown. At first, it forms a cone, and then becomes rounded or ovoid.
The needles are distinguished by their green hues and soft structure. In length, they reach 2-4 centimeters and are arranged in bundles or in a spiral. The cones are small in size and are a maximum of 1.5-3.5 centimeters in length.
The key feature of larch is yellowing and falling of needles. This happens at the end of autumn. At the same time, the fruits remain on the branches for the whole winter. The most common varieties include Dahurian larch Gmelina and Siberian larch.
Microbiota
This coniferous shrub belongs to the Cypress family. This culture has only one variety - cross-pair. At the same time, its number is gradually decreasing. The plant is a prostrate shrub that has thin creeping shoots. The culture is characterized by scaly needles. It is green in summer and brown in winter. The buds are small and include 2-3 scales.
The microbiota is characterized by slow development. For 1 year, it increases by only 2 centimeters. In general, the culture fits perfectly into group compositions or can be grown singly.
Cypress
This evergreen is found in warm southern regions. People began to cultivate it in the seventeenth century. Currently, cypress has become widespread throughout the world.
In the garden, cypress is used in different styles and compositions. Large plants look great in single plantings. It is also permissible to combine them with bright perennial flowers. Small cypress trees can be used to decorate flower beds and rockeries.
Cypress Dracht
This conifer is characterized by slow development. For 1 year, it increases by 3 centimeters. The bush is characterized by compact size and spreading branches. Drakht is distinguished by beautiful dull needles of emerald hue. In the sun, the foliage of the plant looks very impressive. It is often used to decorate rocky slides, rock gardens, bonsai.
Cypress
This evergreen coniferous plant can reach 30 meters. It can be planted in moist, acidic soil. At the same time, the culture develops well in warm regions, and in winter it needs shelter.Cypress is the best for growing in containers. They can also decorate winter gardens.
This sturdy tree looks very noble. It has a dense crown of a conical shape, which includes branches growing in different directions. Serrated needles exude a pronounced pleasant aroma.
Sequoia
This evergreen tree belongs to the Cypress family. In height, it reaches 90-100 meters. Sequoia has a conical shape and horizontal branches. From above it is covered with dense bark up to 30 centimeters thick. The wood has a red-brown tint.
Thuya
This is an evergreen conifer that reaches a height of 20 meters. The plant is considered undemanding to the composition of the soil. It is drought tolerant and heat tolerant. In this case, the thuja may die due to frost.
Usually a tree has several trunks covered with red-brown bark. In height, it can reach 15 meters. The branches are green in color. Small buds include 4-8 shells covered with a blue coating.
Juniper
This coniferous plant has pronounced bactericidal characteristics. However, it has many varieties. Among junipers there are huge plants up to 30 meters in size and dwarf crops that do not exceed 15 centimeters. Each species has its own distinctive features.
Juniper is often used to decorate garden plots. It complements rockeries or rock gardens well. The culture can also be used to create a hedge.
Rocky Moonglow Juniper
This culture reaches a height of 2-3 meters. It has a compact pyramidal crown. The needles of this plant are scaly. It is closely attached to the stem and has a silver-blue color.
Moonglow Juniper is considered undemanding to the ground. It develops well in well-lit areas and in partial shade. In the heat, the plant easily tolerates drought, but is sensitive to excess moisture.
Wollemy
This genus was thought to be extinct. In nature, it was accidentally discovered only in 1994. Wollemia is found in a single place - in the national park of Australia. There are no more than 100 such trees.
Wollemy is grown for decorative purposes only in large botanical gardens. It is a straight tree 35-40 meters in size. It is characterized by a pyramidal crown, which has pinnate palm-shaped branches. The leaves are fern-like and quite dense. They can have different shades - from lemon to olive.
Agathis
This is the oldest fossil plant used for outdoor gardening. It is often planted in gardens and parks. Agatis is not suitable for indoor cultivation, but looks great in greenhouses and conservatories.
This tree has a large size and reaches a height of 50-70 meters. Young plants are distinguished by a pyramidal crown, while older ones are wide and sprawling. The leaves are unusual. In addition, they live for 15-20 years. Cones can be wide-cylindrical or spherical. They are located at the ends of the shoots.
Araucaria
Wild culture prefers a warm climate. In harsh conditions, it can only be grown in apartments or greenhouses. In nature, araucaria is a tall tree 50-60 meters in size. At the same time, room options do not exceed 2-2.5 meters.
Araucaria is characterized by a pyramidal or umbrella-shaped crown. Needles bear little resemblance to needles. To a greater extent, they resemble leaves with a sharp, drawn tip. The buds are large and spherical or elongated.
Torreya
This genus is named after John Torrey, the first New World botanist. Torreya is mainly grown in arboretums and botanical gardens. In suburban areas, culture is quite rare. It is used to create tapeworms or hedges.
This is a small to medium tree that reaches 5-20 meters. Torreya is characterized by a spreading crown and linear hard needles of a dark green color. Cones are more like large berries. They can be red or purple.
Pseudotaxus
This plant is very rare. In nature, it lives exclusively in Eastern China. As an ornamental crop, pseudotaxus is grown in southern China. Sometimes it can be found in other regions.
This plant can reach a height of 2-5 meters.The structure of its crown includes opposite or whorled shoots. The leaves are pointed and slightly asymmetrical. They are located on the side branches in a spiral and are distinguished by a green color. The fruits are rounded white berries with a diameter of 5-7 millimeters.
Tees
This plant is considered a valuable park crop. It is often used to create living sculptures, labyrinths and hedges. Small plants complement rocky and alpine slides. They are also often decorated with rockeries. In addition, yew looks great in single plantings.
This tree has a cylindrical or ovoid crown. It is complemented by flat dark green needles measuring 25-30 millimeters. The fruits are bright red berries.
Austrotaxus
This representative of Yew is found in the Southern Hemisphere. This plant lives exclusively in tropical rainforests. Austrotaxus was not cultivated. It is an evergreen tree that reaches a height of 3-25 meters.
The culture is characterized by a dense branched crown and dark green shiny leaves. The seed cones are apical. Scales cover them in a spiral.
Stupid Cypress Rashahiba
Cypress is characterized by a loose spreading crown. In mature trees, it reaches a width of 2 meters. The decorative properties of the culture are associated with the appearance of the needles. The young growth is characterized by a rich lemon tint, but with age it becomes more green. This is a very photophilous plant. It prefers neutral ground and can withstand temperatures as low as -29 degrees.
Amentotaxus
This plant is often grown in warm regions. It serves as an excellent addition to greenhouses and tropical gardens. In China, amentothaxus is used as a houseplant. It is often grown in the bonsai style.
This plant can grow as a tree up to 15 meters in size and as a shrub up to 2-3 meters in height. The culture is distinguished by a wide crown with spreading shoots. It has straight grey-green leaves. The cones are orange-red berries, spherical or elongated.
Fortune's tyspus
Initially, this culture was found only in the highlands of China. In the middle of the nineteenth century, it came to Europe, and then became widespread.
Fortune's tyspus reaches a height of 10 meters. It has a whorled-branching crown and leathery needles that are distinguished by a spiral arrangement.From above, the needles have a uniform green color, and below - 2 light stripes. The fruits reach a diameter of 2-3 centimeters. A juicy pink-red shell covers them from above.
Harrington's tyspus
In nature, this culture is found in the highlands of Japan and China. Harrington's head tissus is actively used as a beautiful ornamental plant. It winters well under the snow and can withstand temperatures as low as -15 degrees.
Old specimens in nature reach 15 meters. This plant has a voluminous and spreading crown. Needle-shaped leaves reach a length of 18-45 centimeters, and a width of 2-3.5 millimeters. Fruit cones resemble light green berries. As they mature, they turn purple and resemble plums.
Capitatotiss Kostyankovy
This is quite an interesting plant that comes from Japan and China. The culture is actively grown in European countries - primarily in the UK. This plant reaches a height of 15 meters and is distinguished by a dense whorled-branching crown.
The leaves are dark green in color and have a dense structure. They taper towards the base and sharply sharpen at the top. The fruit may be oval or pear shaped and green-red in color.
Sciadopitis
This plant can be considered a living fossil. In nature, it is found exclusively in Japan. At the same time, sciadopitis whorled is considered the only type of culture. This plant reaches a height of 40 meters. At the same time, it lives up to 700 years.
Sciadopitis has a wide or narrow pyramidal crown. The trunk reaches a diameter of 3 meters and is covered with dark brown bark.The needles are green in color and grow up to 10-15 centimeters. The cones are solitary and ovoid in shape. Their length is 8-12 centimeters.
Decorative properties of sciadopitis made it popular in different countries of the world. The plant is often grown in greenhouses and containers. It is used to decorate Japanese dwarf bonsai gardens.
Podocarp
This evergreen crop lives in a mountainous area that has a tropical climate. It came to European countries only in the first half of the nineteenth century. Since then, the plant has been actively cultivated in open gardens and in warm climates. Podocarp is often grown in a greenhouse and used to create interesting bonsai compositions.
This culture is a creeping shrub no larger than 0.5-2 meters in size. At the same time, in the homeland of the plant, there are also tall trees that reach 50 meters. The bushes have a low and prostrate crown, and the trees have a rounded shape.
Podocarp leaves don't look like needles at all. In length, they reach 1.2-10 centimeters and have a dark green color. The fruits are juicy berries similar to cherries. They are purple in color and attached to shoots with bright red legs.
Parasitaxus
This is a parasitic plant. Among the conifers, it is the only one of its kind. The culture grows at an altitude of 500-800 meters. It lives in damp and shady forests. The root system of parasitaxus literally penetrates the bark of the main plant and helps it to rise to an impressive height. At the same time, this crop is practically not used in garden design, since it is very difficult to grow it.
Usually Parasitaxus does not exceed 50 centimeters in height. The plant is characterized by a strongly branched crown and a thin trunk 3-7 centimeters in size. The culture is distinguished by scaly small leaves that have unusual shades - purple, reddish, red.Cones are small and do not exceed 10 millimeters in diameter.
Dacridium
This plant is found in the mountains and lowland forests that extend to the subequatorial zone. From the Greek language, the name of this culture is translated as "tear" . This is due to the fact that most of these conifers release a large amount of resin that flows through the trees. Dacridium belongs to an ancient genus that existed before the collapse of Gondwana.
The plant is a small bush no larger than 30-80 centimeters in size. Tall trees reach 10-30 meters. They have a wide crown. The diameter of the trees reaches 1.5 meters. The needles are small and grow up to 1-2 millimeters. The buds include several fleshy brightly colored scales.
Falcatifolium
This genus was described in the middle of the last century.Culture inhabits vast territories. Its growth zone extends from New Caledonia to the Malay Peninsula. Ephedra is also found in Borneo and Indonesia. Falcatifolium is the sole host of the related culture Parasitaxus.
This plant is relatively small in size - 2-20 meters. In some cases, it reaches 25 meters. The crown has a conical shape and spreading shoots. The trunk reaches a diameter of 80 centimeters and has a gray or brownish bark.
The foliage is distinguished by 2 types. It is normal and scaly. Cones differ in ovoid or spherical shape 6-15 centimeters in length. They have a very different color - from greenish to purple-red.
Akmopile
This conifer mainly lives in tropical forests, which are located at an altitude of 1000 meters above sea level. In nature, akmopile can be seen only in two places - on the island of Fiji and in New Caledonia.
The culture was once quite widespread. Today, however, it is practically extinct. The fossilized remains of the plant are found in different places - in particular, in Australia. In summer cottages, conifers are grown extremely rarely.
Expert opinionZarechny Maxim ValerievichAgronomist with 12 years of experience. Our best gardening expert.Ask a QuestionAkmopile is straight trees. Instances that live in New Caledonia reach a height of 25 meters. Fiji grows lower varieties. Their height does not exceed 5 meters.Trees are characterized by a sprawling pyramidal crown, which has several drooping branches. The girth of the trunk is 10-20 centimeters. The leaves are dimorphic and quite small. Their size does not exceed 4-6 millimeters. The fruits are berries-nuts, the length of which is 8-22 mm. They are rounded
Phyllocladus
This is a very unusual plant with modified shoots. They acquired a flat leaf-like shape. At the same time, the leaves themselves turned into small scales, which are located on the edges of the so-called leaf plates. They are called phylloclades.
Under natural conditions, phyllocladus lives in New Zealand and on the island of Tasmania. Also, the plant is found in other places, preferring a height of about 900-4000 meters above the sea surface.
Phyllocladus can be miniature or fairly large. In the first case, the plant does not exceed 1.5 meters, in the second it reaches 5-20. This conifer is characterized by a rare uneven crown. At the same time, it is quite spreading. The trunk reaches a thickness of 70 centimeters.
The false leaves of the plant grow up to 1.5-12 centimeters in length and have a decorative split shape. Real leaves are very small and have a scaly structure.
Mature buds are small. Their length does not exceed 6-15 millimeters. The fruits may be ovoid or spherical. They are distinguished by attractive reddish or purple hues. Phyllocladus is recommended to grow in a mild, humid climate. It is also often planted in greenhouses.
Saxegothea
Patagonia and Chile are considered the birthplace of this culture. Saxegothea lives in humid and dense tropical forests. There it is combined with other unusual conifers. Since the forties of the nineteenth century, the plant has been grown in the USA and Great Britain.
Saxegothea can reach a height of 10 meters. Some specimens grow up to 15-20 meters. The culture is distinguished by a rounded crown with dense drooping shoots. The trunk reaches a diameter of 2 meters. It is covered with gray-brown bark, which peels unevenly in the form of flakes.
The leaves are placed in an irregular spiral and sharply pointed upwards.In length, they reach 15-25 millimeters, and in width - 1-2.5. The upper part of the leaves is characterized by a dark green color and has a clear central vein. At the bottom, they are distinguished by a greenish tint with blue notes.
Ripe seed buds are blue or purple in color. They are located singly and reach a diameter of 8-12 millimeters. The fruits are conical in shape and include 15-20 fleshy scales. Under natural conditions, the saxegothea is a rather tall tree, but in greenhouses it is grown as a shrub.
Microcachris
This is a very rare crop that is listed in the Red Book. This plant was found only in one place - in the mountainous regions of Tasmania. The culture is found in the west and in the central part of the island.
Mikrokachrys chose the Alpine belt for habitation. The plant is found in damp and swampy soil.At the same time, it rises above sea level up to 1250 meters. Unusual appearance and unusual cones make it possible to use microcachrys for decoration of greenhouses and botanical gardens. For example, in the UK, culture began to grow back in the fifties of the nineteenth century and even managed to get its fruits.
The height of this plant does not exceed 20-30 centimeters. This is a creeping shrub that has highly branched shoots. They are able to stretch up to 1.5-2.5 meters. The plant is distinguished by long ascending shoots and small scaly leaves. At the tips of the shoots are crimson or red cones, inside which there are edible fruits.
Coniferous plants can be a decoration of any suburban area. At the same time, it is important to choose the right crop depending on the climatic conditions of the area and provide it with full and high-quality care.
