Your help is appreciated. We depend on donations to help keep this site free and up to date for you. Can you please help us?

Donate

Native Plant Trust: Go Botany Discover thousands of New England plants

Pinaceae

See list of 6 genera in this family
  • 1a. Leaves, at least in part, borne in fascicles or spirally arranged tufts of 2–60 on short shoots
    • 2a. Leaves annually deciduous, those of the short shoots in spirally arranged tufts of 10–60 [Fig. 44]; each scale of a strobilus without an umbo; bracts exserted in basal portion of strobilus
    • 2b. Leaves persisting more than 1 year, those of the short shoots in fascicles of 2–5; each scale of a strobilus with an umbo; bracts hidden by scales
    • 3a. Winter buds very resinous, the individual scales concealed by resin; strobili erect, with deciduous scales; leaves attached directly to branchlet and expanded to a circular base
    • 3b. Winter buds not, or only slightly, resinous, the individual scales visible; strobili pendant at maturity [Figs. 45,47], with persistent scales; leaves either attached to peg-like projections (i.e., sterigmata) from branchlet and narrowed to the attachment or attached directly to the branchlet with an expanded elliptic base
      • 4a. Bracts of seed cone conspicuously exserted, 3-lobed at apex, the central lobe longer than the lateral lobes; young bark with resin blisters; leaves attached directly to the branchlet and expanded to an elliptic base
      • 4b. Bracts of seed cone not exserted, not 3-lobed at apex; bark lacking resin blisters; leaves attached to peg-like projections from branchlet and narrowed to the attachment
        • 5a. Leaf blades flat, petiolate, rounded at apex, dimorphic—longer, spreading ones and shorter, often appressed, ones; terminal shoot nodding
        • 5b. Leaf blades tetragonous, sessile, pointed at apex, monomorphic; terminal 
shoot erect

Show All Couplets

 Show photos of:   Each photo represents one genus in this family.