Surprising Conifers that Drop Their Leaves

Many of us remember when teacher classified trees as either Evergreen or Deciduous, that is to say trees that stay green versus those that drop their leaves to conserve water with the approach of Winter. Evergreen trees like Pines, Firs or Spruces were synonymous with Conifers. Meet the freaky foolers that illustrate the old expression: "The exception proves the rule." These shocking plants prove that not all conifers are evergreen.

Let's begin with one odd plant, the Maidenhair Tree. Ginko Biloba, has been planted everywhere because of its unique ability to survive disease, temperature extremes and the air pollution that accompanies city life. But once, this ancient tree was jealously guarded by Chinese monks, who valued it for its medicinal qualities. Even today, research is actively pursued on the medicinal qualities of this fruit which is said to be beneficial for blood circulation and mental functioning.

The Maidenhair Tree sports fan-shaped leaves instead of needles, but like pines, spruces and common evergreens it bears cones. Unlike other cone-bearing trees, called conifers, this tree drops its foliage in the winter and becomes dormant like a deciduous tree. It has a very strange sex life and is the only tree with free-swiming sperm. And unlike many trees, separate male and female plants are needed to produce the seed. Scientists classify this plant as being a missing-link between ferns and conifers. This bizarre plant is in a class of its own and has been granted its very own Phyllum-Ginkgophyta.

How about a tree that looks something like a pine, but then turns a glorious yellow in the Fall just before dropping every one of its needles? All of the Larches in Genus Larix as well as the beautiful Golden Larch, Pseudolarix Kaempferi are among the most stunning of the Fall trees, and are conifers and deciduous trees at the same time.

Let's return to China for a minute to take a look at another ancient survivor--the Dawn Redwood. Metasequia glyptostroboides. This is also one of a very ancient class of trees that survived for millenia undisturbed in China until it was introduced into the Western world in the 1940s. Today, this handsome Pyramidal tree with reddish wood can be seen in botanical gardens across the world and in the landscapes of many proud Long Island homes, but like the Larix, this one looks deceptively like an ordinary pine, until it drops every last needle in the Fall.

Rounding out the line-up of the evergreens that aren't are the Bald Cypresses. These gorgeous trees, Taxodium distichum, are the ones with the big, knobby "knees" that you see in swamps. No one is really sure what those knees are for either. Some say they anchor the plant in the soft, non-supportive swamp they are native to, others say the knees help the roots breathe. It's just one more mystery among many for this strange deciduous conifer.

Sources

http://www.xs4all.nl/~kwanten/thetree.htm