Plant World

Plant Diversity

Do pine trees keep their needles forever?

Pine needles occur in groups, called fascicles, of two to five needles. A few species have only one needle per fascicle, while others have as many as eight. Regardless of the number of needles, a fascicle forms a cylinder of short shoots that are surrounded at their base by small, scalelike leaves that usually fall off after one year of growth. The needle-bearing fascicles are also shed a few at a time, usually every two to ten years, so that any pine tree, while appearing evergreen, has a complete change of needles every two to four years of less.



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