Conifer trees can be identified by their needle-like foliage and recognizable cones.
Photo Credit : Pixabay
It’s hard to imagine a New England winter without the beneficial beauty of evergreen conifer trees.
Conifer trees can be identified by their needle-like foliage and recognizable cones. Photo Credit : Pixabay
WHAT ARE CONIFER TREES?
Conifers are evergreen trees that produce pinecones and remain alive and full bodied in all seasons, providing us with constant protection, beauty, and gifts to see us through the cold months ahead. Most are part of the pine tree family and all have needles on their branches. Familiar species of New England evergreen conifers are hemlock, spruce, blue spruce, fir, and white pine.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF EVERGREEN CONIFER TREES?
Not only are these evergreen conifer trees beautiful in the bleak winter months—they also serve as a wind, sound and air pollution barrier for our homes. They provide much needed shelter for many species of wildlife—from the grey squirrels who build their nests deep within the top limbs to the white tailed deer that bed down together under the wide branches at the base of ancient evergreens in stormy weather. And, of course, the trees are homes to dozens of species of native non-migrating birds that take cover in their branches. In fact, it’s quite common for several species of birds to co-exist peacefully in the same tree.
ALL ABOUT PINECONES.
What are pinecones? The pinecones that drop from conifers in the fall and throughout the winter are yet another gift of the magnificent conifer evergreen trees. More than just a decorative natural prop, pinecones protect the tree’s seeds from the cold, elements, and nibbling wildlife. The cones can be found in a variety of shapes and sizes depending on the species of tree they originate from. There are tiny cones that are no more than an inch long and 1/2-inch wide to the 4-6 inch curved, sap saturated, sticky ones and the desirable 2-3 inch round and wide medium sized cones that are perfect for displaying in baskets and making crafts and wreaths. One walk in the woods can yield numerous pinecones—and when dried out—the cones make excellent fire starters for wood stoves and fire places as well as bringing a woodsy feeling to the inside.
The New England woods are full of formidable native evergreen trees, allowing those of us who call this region home a constant reminder of all that is alive throughout the year—even when we are in a deep freeze in the dead of winter.
This post was first published in 2013 and has been updated.
Shelley (Fleming) Wigglesworth is an award-winning freelance journalist from Maine and a certified Maine Master Gardener who writes gardening articles on a regular basis for NewEngland.com. Her work can be found in the following publications: The Village Magazine, York County Coast Star, Yankee Magazine (online), National Fisherman Magazine, Commercial Fisheries News, Points East Magazine, Coastal Angler Magazine and The Maine Lobstermen's Association's "Landings."
