Activity 1: Types of Trees

Have you ever looked at your Christmas tree and wondered why it looks so different than other trees? They do not turn a variety of colors such as red, or orange they just stay green. They also do not lose their leaves like trees that change color and lose their leaves.

The reason for this is because Christmas trees are evergreens. Evergreens are coniferous, which means they have needle shaped or scale shaped leaves and produce seeds in cones. Whereas, trees that change colors and lose their leaves in the fall are called deciduous. Most of these trees are broadleaf, meaning they have flat leaves, produce flowers, fruits which contain seeds.

Let’s look at some examples:

 

 

 

Nature Activity

1. Take a walk in your neighborhood or visit the C&O Canal to see if you can identify which trees are broadleaf or coniferous.
2. Bring a pad of paper or notebook with you to draw and label the different trees that you find; broadleaf or coniferous. Then you will have this journal of images to refer to when exploring the outdoors.

Note:

While at the park, “Take Nothing but photos and leave nothing but footprints!” Follow the Leave No Trace Principles.

• You may want to bring a cell phone with you to take photos of the tree leaves and you could also use a tree identification app, such as Seek by iNaturalist.