Needleleaf trees include such familiar trees as firs, hemlocks, pines, redwoods, and spruces. There are about 500 species of needleleaf trees. Most of these trees have narrow, pointed, needlelike leaves. But a few types, such as cedars and junipers, have narrow, scalelike leaves.

Most needleleaf trees are evergreen, though they produce new needles each year. The oldest needles turn yellow or brown and drop, but the youngest needles remain green and do not fall. A few species of needleleaf trees are deciduous. One kind is the larch, which grows in northern forests throughout the world. Another deciduous needleleaf tree is the baldcypress that grows in swamps of the Southeastern United States.

Although yews are classified as conifers, they do not produce cones but cup-shaped "berries." Many members of the cypress family, such as arborvitae and junipers, have scalelike leaves and give off a spicy fragrance. The taxodium family includes baldcypresses and the largest of all living trees-the redwoods and giant sequoias.

Two conifer families-the podocarpus family and the araucaria family--grow mainly south of the equator. Podocarpus trees are tall evergreens with broader leaves than those of most needleleaf trees. The araucaria family includes the Chile pine. This strange-looking tree has snakelike branches covered with sharp, scaly leaves. It is sometimes called the monkey puzzle tree because its sharp leaves make it difficult to climb.

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