To residents of much of North America , evergreen and deciduous treesare sometimes taken as synonymous with " conifers " and " hardwood . " But that strict affiliation is wrong : there are deciduous coniferous tree and evergreen plant broad - thumb trees , not to mention all manner of " semi - evergreen " and " semi - deciduous " forms to discombobulate the situation . The return deals with two discrete approaches trees ( and other plants ) take to finagle their foliage .
Evergreen vs. Deciduous
evergreen plant tree diagram are those that keep leaf on the branchlet yr - round . Deciduous trees are those that drop their parting for some part of the yr . Toward the rod , these different life strategy lean to be oriented around the effects of winter : little durations of sunlight , cold-blooded temperature , C and ice . But in the semitropics and tropics , ecosystems that experience reliable dry seasons may host so - called drought - deciduous trees that shed their leaves in answer to the threat of dessication . Species in between these categories may be deciduous at one latitude and evergreen plant at another , or may alone cycle through foliage within a year but always have some live leaves on the branch . In any case , deciduous trees avoid some of the challenges pose by wintry or ironic conditions that evergreens must endure , while expending the energy to regrow their photosynthetic organ every year ; evergreens can be quick to take reward of unexpected bouts of rain or an other spring .
The Conifers
Most mintage of conifer , admit pines , firs , spruce , junipers and cypress tree , are evergreen plant tree . Their foliation tends look radically dissimilar from those of broad - leave Tree . Members of the pine folk have phonograph needle - like structures for their foliage , ranging from small and densely packed in firs and spruce , to prospicient and graceful in the pines . Most conifer in the cypress family show minuscule , scale - same farewell wrap tightly against the sprig . coniferous tree called larches , common to boreal and stack forests of North America and Eurasia , shoot the trend by being deciduous , as do the dawn sequoia and baldcypresses .
Evergreen Broad-leaved Trees
Many broad - leave trees in milder climates are evergreen . dampish tropical forests include a host of them , from palm to mahogany . Fig trees are some of the most widespread , with representatives in all the world ’s tropical and semitropical regions . Most are evergreen . Other evergreen plant blanket - leafs inhabit dryer , Mediterranean climate , characterized by winter rainfall and summer droughts . For instance , Arbutus menziesii of the U.S. west coast have rugged , rubbery leaves they keep back all twelvemonth , allowing them to take advantage of winter rains unavailable to deciduous associates like oaks and great - foliage maples .
Deciduous Broad-leaved Trees
But deciduous broad - leaved trees are also supremely successful : in sure climate , in particular the temperate latitudes , they often prevail bombastic - scale forested ecosystem . The temperate deciduous timber of the easterly U.S. , much of Europe and eastern Asia are for the most part defined by oak tree , maples , beeches , birch and other deciduous large-minded - leafs that shed their foliage during the winter to avoid piddle loss and freezing damage . In subtropical and tropic areas live distinct wet and dry seasons , deciduous encompassing - leafs employ the same strategy to digest their development during the former menses .
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