# Evergreens that change color? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 7, 2004, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evergreens-that-change-color/273465 "2004-11-07T05:11:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evergreens-that-change-color/273465/1 "2004-11-07T05:11:22Z")
I am living in northern Japan for the first time, and I have noticed something I have never seen before. It is a tree that I would normally call “evergreen” with green needles and cones, but over the past several weeks they have turned a brilliant fiery gold. What could this tree be? Does anyone know of other evergreen-like trees that change colors (other than to brownish)? ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evergreens-that-change-color/273465/2 "2004-11-07T05:12:57Z")
Not sure what you’re seeing there, but the tamarack is another conifer that drops its needles for winter. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evergreens-that-change-color/273465/3 "2004-11-07T05:46:11Z")
::: burrows out from under a pile of pine straw ::: **All** trees lose their leaves – most conifers immediately grow a new set of needles while doing so, so that they continue to photosynthesize year-round. (A very few broadleaf trees in tropical and warm-temperate climates do the same, substituting “leaf” for needle.) Most broadleaf trees, and a few conifers, go nude through the winter, avoiding the snow and ice buildup on the wider leaves. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evergreens-that-change-color/273465/4 "2004-11-07T09:03:27Z")
[ul] [li]_Cedrus deodara_ ‘Snow Sprite’. Intermediate. Broad, compact form revealing new ivory-white spring growth aging to creamy-yellow. Grows upright.[/li][li]_Chamaecyparis pisifera_ ‘Plumosa Compressa’. Dwarf. Compact, bushy habit with foliage emerging a creamy yellow green that changes to medium green later in the year. [/li][li]_Juniperus communis_ ‘Gold Cone’. Dwarf. Columnar form with bright golden yellow foliage in spring and summer. Grows upright.[/li][li]_Juniperus chinensis_ ‘Daub’s Frosted’. Dwarf. Variegated foliage frosted with light golden yellow spring growth against the interior bluish-green foliage. Spreads horizontally.[/li][li]_Juniperus horizontalis_ ‘Mother Lode’. Intermediate. Rich golden yellow foliage changes to a yellow-bronze hue tinged with plum in the winter landscape. Spreads horizontally. [/li][li]_Picea glauca_ ‘Rainbow’s End’. Dwarf. Narrowly cone-shaped, with new growth in light green, with bright, creamy yellow tips that glow against the forest green older foliage. Grows upright.[/li]_Pinus mugo_ ‘Pot o’ Gold’. Dwarf. A rounded mound that stays neat and compact. Emerald green summer color changes to a glowing lemon yellow in winter.[/ul] ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evergreens-that-change-color/273465/5 "2004-11-07T10:09:10Z")
[QUOTE=Walloon] [ul] [li]_Pinus mugo_ ‘Pot o’ Gold’. Dwarf. A rounded mound that stays neat and compact. Emerald green summer color changes to a glowing lemon yellow in winter.[/ul][/li][/QUOTE] Thanks… The pigmentation of my tree sounds like _Pinus mugo_ except the range is wrong (mugo occurs in Europe, I’m in Japan) and the form is wrong (mugo is 1-5m rounded mound, mine are 10-13m conical.) That doesn’t seem to match anything on the list, so I guess I’ll have to keep looking. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evergreens-that-change-color/273465/6 "2004-11-07T10:18:52Z")
Think I found it… the Japanese larch _Larix leptolepsis_. There’s one to add to the list of conifers that change colors. Apparently it’s used worldwide for decoration and erosion control. It’s really amazing foilage, I would encourage folks to consider it as an ornamental if it’s available in your area. Thanks for your assistance. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evergreens-that-change-color/273465/7 "2004-11-07T10:37:44Z")
> [@Polycarp](#): > > **All** trees lose their leaves – most conifers immediately grow a new set of needles while doing so, so that they continue to photosynthesize year-round. (A very few broadleaf trees in tropical and warm-temperate climates do the same, substituting “leaf” for needle.) Since by far the majority of tree species are found in the tropics and subtropics and since by far the majority of subtropical and tropical tree species are tropical it is in fact the norm for trees to be evergreen in the way you describe. Only a very few broadleaf trees, primarliy in the temperate and frigiid zones, are in fact deciduous. Sometimes we can get the imprerssion that most of the world is like the area we live in. In fact most of the world is not, and in this case it’s worth noting that most of the biological diversity of the Earth exists in the warmer regions where the deciduous habit is relatively rare. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evergreens-that-change-color/273465/8 "2004-11-07T14:28:41Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > Since by far the majority of tree species are found in the tropics and subtropics and since by far the majority of subtropical and tropical tree species are tropical it is in fact the norm for trees to be evergreen in the way you describe. Only a very few broadleaf trees, primarliy in the temperate and frigiid zones, are in fact deciduous. > > Sometimes we can get the imprerssion that most of the world is like the area we live in. In fact most of the world is not, and in this case it’s worth noting that most of the biological diversity of the Earth exists in the warmer regions where the deciduous habit is relatively rare. I would not say “very few.” The deciduous habit is in fact fairly common in the tropics. In any area with a significant dry season, a certain percentage of the species lose their leaves in order to avoid excessive water loss. They put on new leaves at the beginning of the rains. In some tropical dry forests, almost all canopy trees lose their leaves during the dry season. Here near Panama City, with an annual rainfall of about 1500 mm (60 inches) and a four-month dry season, the forests have a quite different aspect during the dry season due to so many species losing their leaves. > [@Gorsnak](#): > > Not sure what you’re seeing there, but the tamarack is another conifer that drops its needles for winter. > [@NattoGuy](#): > > Think I found it… the Japanese larch Larix leptolepsis. The tamarack _Larix laricina_ is in fact a kind of larch. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evergreens-that-change-color/273465/9 "2004-11-07T22:09:28Z")
> [@](#): > > I would not say “very few.” The deciduous habit is in fact fairly common in the tropics. In any area with a significant dry season, a certain percentage of the species lose their leaves in order to avoid excessive water loss. I covered all that in an earl;ier thread if you care to search. And the answer remains very few. I can dig out the figures if you really like but less than 15% of tropical and subtropical woody plants are deciduous. That’s very few in my book. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evergreens-that-change-color/273465/10 "2004-11-07T23:35:26Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > The tamarack _Larix laricina_ is in fact a kind of larch. According to what I’m finding, the tamarack does not undergo any specific color change. My tree has changed to a bright gold color. So that, plus the fact that I’m in Japan, makes me fairly sure that I’m seeing a Japanese larch. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evergreens-that-change-color/273465/11 "2004-11-07T23:48:28Z")
> [@NattoGuy](#): > > According to what I’m finding, the tamarack does not undergo any specific color change. My tree has changed to a bright gold color. So that, plus the fact that I’m in Japan, makes me fairly sure that I’m seeing a Japanese larch. I wasn’t suggesting that the tree you were seeing was a tamarack, just pointing out that it was related to a species that might be more familiar to people in North America. (The tamarack is found naturally in the northeast US and Canada). Tamaracks do, however, turn yellow in the fall just like your tree. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2004, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evergreens-that-change-color/273465/12 "2004-11-07T23:52:59Z")
> [@Blake](#): > > I covered all that in an earl;ier thread if you care to search. And the answer remains very few. I can dig out the figures if you really like but less than 15% of tropical and subtropical woody plants are deciduous. That’s very few in my book. Like I said, _I_ would not consider it very few. It still amounts to thousands of species that dominate significant areas of the tropics. ---
**Author:** ![Doobieous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/da6949/32.png) [@Doobieous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doobieous)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2004, 8:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evergreens-that-change-color/273465/13 "2004-11-08T08:52:22Z")
Many trees go deciduous just before flowering, which probably helps to expose the flowers to pollinators. In California, our most interesting deciduous tree is the California Buckeye, which is typically drought deciduous, but will also hold leaves until fall if it gets enough water. Of the native trees here in my part of California, I can only think of three evergreen species that are dominant. The rest are deciduous, which is contrary to what most people think it’s like here (they see the plantings within the cities and think we don’t have many trees that lose their leaves): Pinus radiata - Monterey Pine Cupressus macrocarpa - Monterey Cypress Quercus agrifolia - Coast live oak deciduous trees are: Populus fremontii - Fremont cottonwood Salix spp. - Willow Aesculus californica - California Buckeye Platanus racemosa - California Sycamore Quercus lobata, douglasii, garryana - Valley, Blue, and Garry Oak Acer macrophylla - Big Leaf Maple Acer circinatum - Vine Maple Sambucus mexicana - Blue Elderberry and of our shrubs, the most colorful deciduous one is: Toxicodendron diversilobum - Poison Oak, which has intense red leaves in fall. Most of our deciduous trees turn to shades of yellow or tan.