Some basic tips to identify coniferous trees in the northern hemisphere, including cedar (Cupressaceae family) , spruce (Picea sp.), fir (Abies sp), hemlock (Tsuga sp.), douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga sp.), and pine (Pinus sp.).


I had to be somewhat general since there is lots of variation with each of these groups. I look at clues in their profile, needles, bark, and cone. And yes, I do realize that conifers have male cones as well. I chose to ignore that fact to simplify things.

As some have pointed out, true cedars belong to the Cedrus genus and live in Asia. My bad.

Also, I'm the world's worst proofreader (well, at least when it comes to my own work). Abies lasiocarpa is subalpine fir, not balsam fir. The tree shown after (also labelled balsam fir) IS a balsam fir with the correct Latin name.

Find me on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and other internet places through my about page: [ Ссылка ]

Photo Credits
Standing out from the Crowd, Ruth Ellison,. CC by 2.0, via Flickr [ Ссылка ]

A stand of conifers, Clowes Wood, CC BY-SA 2.0, [ Ссылка ]

Coastal Dogwood. Allie_Caulfield. CC BY 2.0. [ Ссылка ]

Thuja plicata - Western Red Cedar near July Creek by brew brooks, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Old trees growing on a rock ledge by Brynn CC BY-SA 3.0, [ Ссылка ]

Cupressus nootkatensis by Walter via Wikimedia Commons

Shorepine Bog Trail, Pacific Rim National Park By Aaron Carlson from Menomonie, WI, USA [CC BY-SA 2.0] viaWikimedia Commons
PonderosaPine By Dcrjsr (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0] via Google CC search.

Coulter Pine cone By TheRealDeJureTour., CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Pinus Nigra By Lambique (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0] via Wikimedia Commons

Clark's Nutcracker (Nucifraga columbiana) by Marshal Hedin [CC BY-SA 2.0] Via flicker

Engleman Spruce on the PCT by Jsayre64 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0] via Google creative commons search
Black Spruce Stand at arctic chalet By Daniel Case (Own work) CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Norway Spruce needle stomata by Greg Hume (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0] via Wikimedia Commons

By photo taken by User:Muu-karhu (Own work) CC-BY-SA-3.0, viaWikimedia Commons

Abies balsam by Di R. A. Nonenmacher - Opera propria, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Abies alba By Crusier (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0] via Wikimedia Commons

Abies magnifica Lassen By Tyler Karaszewski [CC BY 2.0 ] via Wikimedia Commons

Abies amabilis zampach1 By Petr Filippov (Own work)

Abies grands By Walter Siegmund (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0] [ Ссылка ]

Abies koreana By Lestat (Jan Mehlich) (Own work) CC BY-SA 2.5
Douglas Bark found using Google creative commons search

Abies Cone and Bits By MPF a, CC BY-SA 3.0,
Mountain hemlock. By Dcrjsr (Own work) CC BY-SA 3.0 at

Creative Commons Links
CC BY-SA 3.0 ([ Ссылка ])], via Wikimedia Commons
CC BY-SA 4.0 [ Ссылка ]
CC BY-SA 2.5 ([ Ссылка ])], via Wikimedia Commons
CC-2 [ Ссылка ]

-~-~~-~~~-~~-~-
Please watch: "Botanical Delights at the Vallarta Botanical Gardens" for some fascinating stuff on edible plants, Mexican history, and other very cool nature nerd facts.
[ Ссылка ]
-~-~~-~~~-~~-~-

свернуть