Why Do Pine Trees Stay Green All Year?
Why Do Pine Trees Stay Green All Year? Pine trees remain green throughout the year because they don’t lose all their leaves at one time. Trees that remain green all year are known as evergreens.
Pines, spruces, and firs are among the most familiar evergreens. Their tough, needle-shaped leaves with stand the low temperatures and harsh winds of winter.
These needles cut evaporation so trees can save water — dear in the winter. The narrow leaves manage this with three adaptations: thicker skin, to retain water a thicker coating of water-proof wax, called cutin simpler needle-like shape.
The long, slender shape reduces leaf surface area, which, in turn, reduces the amount of water vapor escaping the leaf, or needle.
These evergreens do shed their leaves, but because the trees grow new leaves before shedding the old ones, the leaf drop usually goes unnoticed. If you walk through an evergreen forest, you will see many dried-up leaves scattered about the ground.