When you are hiking on one of the DNR trails this spring and you happen to see an evergreen tree, remember there is more to it than just its needles. Unlike trees such as beech, maple, ash and hickory that lose their leaves in the fall, evergreen trees keep most of their leaves (called needles) all year long.

We have all seen evergreens. These are the trees used to decorate during the winter holiday season. They are called evergreen because they keep their green needles throughout the winter. Trees that do this are called “coniferous.” That name refers to the seed-bearing cones that these trees produce.

Indiana has many evergreens, including spruce, hemlock, juniper, cedar and various pines.

Trees that lose all their leaves during the fall and winter are called “deciduous” trees.

Evergreen needles are modified leaves, but they’re not like other tree leaves. Evergreen needles are either thin and needlelike, or flat and scaly, with a waxy coating. The waxy coating is important because it helps these trees hold on to water, so they can better handle dry seasons.

Evergreen needles range in color from bluish-green to glossy dark green. While evergreens keep most of their needles through the seasons, they do not keep all of them. They drop older needles that have turned brown and are no longer useful.

Leaves are important to all trees. They capture sunlight through chlorophyll, the substance that makes leaves green. Sunlight is turned into sugars through a process called photosynthesis and is transported throughout the tree as food.

Leaves are also important for gas exchange, which is how trees breathe. Leaves take in carbon dioxide, a gas that humans and animals release when they breathe out. Carbon dioxide is important to photosynthesis. Once a tree has used carbon dioxide, it releases oxygen from the leaves into the environment, helping us breathe more easily.

Another feature of evergreens is resin, a sticky fluid that seeps out of the tree if it has been cut or drilled. Resin protects the tree from fungus and insect pests. It also helps plug wounds in the tree, as a scab does after you scrape your knee or elbow.

Evergreens are important trees. In nature they provide food, camouflage and shelter for wildlife. Some birds even use a tree’s resin when building their nests to help keep their home fungus-free. People have many uses for evergreens other than holiday decorations. They are used in landscaping to make yards look pretty, their wood is used for lumber and furniture, and resin is used in varnishes and adhesives. What a great tree!

Why not join one of DNR’s interpretive naturalists on a tree hike this year and find out more about trees?

Make a paper evergreen tree
Craft design by Michael Ellis

Alex and Isabel Kauffman from Indianapolis demonstrate steps in making a paper evergreen tree (clockwise previous page and continuing above). Making a simple 3-dimensional evergreen tree from construction paper is easy. You can make your own forest of these fantastic trees.

Supplies Needed
Scissors
Clear tape
Green construction paper
Crayon, markers or tempera paint
(download optional evergreen template, PDF)

• Fold a piece of green construction paper in half, then cut it in half.
• Put the two pieces together and fold them in half again.
• Draw half an evergreen tree opposite the fold.
• Cut along the line. You should get two identical trees.
• Fold the trees in half, just barely creasing the center line (to mark the center of the tree). Cut a slit along the bottom half of the center of one tree and along the top half of the center of the other tree.
• Slip the two trees together along the slits. Using clear tape, tape the bottoms and tops together (pieces of tape on the bottom and at the top make the tree stand up well and stop the slit ends from flopping over).
• Draw some pine cones For a bigger tree: Start with two pieces of green
  construction paper. Fold them so they make a long, thin rectangle. Draw a tree opposite the fold. The rest of the instructions are the same.on your tree if you’d like.