Get To Know Your Native Conifers

Sometimes called evergreens, most coniferous trees keep their foliage year-round. There are over 600 living species of conifers, and while there is some debate over how many are native to Canada, the number is approximately 30. Conifers include the oldest and tallest trees. The oldest, the Bristlecone pine, can live to be nearly 5,000 years old. The tallest, the Coast redwood, grows to over 100 m high. Exploitation, forest degradation, and habitat destruction have placed 34 percent of conifers under threat of extinction. Conifers native to Canada include the Douglas fir, pine, spruce, larch, true fir, hemlock, cedar, cypress, juniper and yew. The greatest diversity of conifers occurs in the western provinces, with British Columbia having 25 native species. The second greatest diversity is in the eastern and Atlantic provinces, with relatively few species in the central provinces. Most species grow in limited geographical regions, but the black spruce and white spruce species extend from coastal British Columbia to the Atlantic Ocean.

(Source: The Canadian Encyclopedia)