Spruce forest - description, features, nature and interesting facts. Coniferous forests of Russia

Everyone's favorite beautiful coniferous trees are spruce, pine, fir, cypress and others.

There are so many of them and they all look great in the garden, on summer cottage and are generally used in landscape design.

U coniferous trees a lot of different names, let’s look at it in more detail to decide and decide what exactly you want to plant.

All trees are beautiful in their own way, and their smell attracts and relaxes. These are irreplaceable parts of every garden.

Spruce from the Pine Family. They love temperate climates and grow up to 35 centimeters in height. Their leaves are sharp green needles that look like a spiral. They stay on the tree for many years.

There are cones on the tree that grow after ten years of spruce life. We ate a lot different types with different shapes, different heights etc.

They are loved for their smell and decorativeness. Here are the species that most often grow in Russia:

  • Glena spruce

A large tree with considerable height. The lower branches hang downwards, and the upper branches are located upward, as if reaching towards the sun. Cones of purple color. Loves wet soil.

  • Canadian spruce (white, blue)

Thick trunk, cone-shaped crown. The needles are very long, the cones are the size of an egg. Grows in the forests of America. An unpretentious spruce, it even gets used to drought and grows quietly.

The color is yellow-green, massive spruce, small cones, red. The fruits ripen late, towards the end of spring. Often used as a decorative spruce.

  • Blue spiny

35 meters high. It is a meter thick and can be divided into several trunks. The bark is thick, young - gray, older - turns brown. The needles are sharp, needles, and have a beautiful blue color.

  • Norway spruce

Common type. They are usually planted near the fence as protection from the sun, to create shade in the dacha for relaxation or for some plants. The needles are long, large, thick, shiny and dark green color. Grows up to 500 years. It is a known fact that at the beginning of ripening it grows little by little, then very quickly.

  • Serbian spruce

Rare, grows in Serbia. Small, has a dwarf shape. The needles are small and have a color from dark blue to light blue mixed with green. Tolerates any soil, climate and conditions.

  • Siberian spruce

The spruce itself is large, its needles are small and very sharp, and its cones are also small. Mainly grows in Europe and Siberia. It loves moist soil very much, so it is less common than other spruce trees.

  • Sitka spruce

Alaska state symbol. Large massive spruce, mainly used as decorative. Loves moist, cool climates.

  • Inversa spruce

Height up to seven meters, width up to two.

  • Nidiformis

A small spruce tree almost a meter tall, one and a half meters wide.

  • Glauka

It has blue needles and is used as decorative in landscape design.

Fir. Kinds

Pine family, powerful tree. Cone shape. In the shape of an oval or cylinder - cones. When you're young, you don't like the tree sunlight. Does not like dirty, dusty places.

Here are the types of fir:

  • Caucasian fir

The plant is considered heroic and powerful; its species was found in 1835 in Georgia. Otherwise called Nordmann Fir, in honor of the person who found its species. 50 meters high. Crown in the shape of a pyramid.

There is an opinion that when they built the Trojan horse, they used the bark of this fir. That's why it has this name. It is used at Christmas and decorated in Europe.

She lives for 700 years. She has a rich green color and shines.

  • Fir one color

It is distinguished by its unusualness and grace, growing mainly in the north of America. Branches and needles in the form of a skeleton, sharp, prickly. Withstands winds calmly. Loves almost any soil and can tolerate any conditions. It grows for a long time, up to 350 years, and is unpretentious. He is going through the transplant calmly.

  • Subalpine fir

Slender fir, low, has the shape of a column. It has a silver-blue tint. It has a strong powerful bud smell. Does not like moisture, grows quietly mainly in shady areas. Loves rich soil, does not grow well in urban environments.

  • Sakhalin fir

Slender, low, pointed fir. The color of young bark is gray, the older it is, the darker it is. It does not like to grow in the city due to heavy air pollution, but it is frost-resistant.

  • Argenta

The needles are unusual blue-gray, white tips. In spring, luminescent shoots ripen. This unusual phenomenon occurs within a month, looks great in the garden.

Cedar. Kinds

These plants have amazing beautiful view. Widely used by the British in gardens and parks. At the same time, they enrich and make the landscape so cozy and pleasant.

Bonsai is made from dwarf forms of this plant. These are all trees grown by people.

Real wild ones grow up to 3 thousand meters in height, above the clouds.

INTERESTING TO KNOW:

Those nuts that we buy in the store and eat (pine nuts) actually do not grow on cedar trees, they are fruits from cedar pine. Real cedar fruits cannot be eaten.


Types of cedars:

  • Strict;
  • Pendula;
  • Tortuosa;
  • Nana (dwarf);
  • Nana pyramidata.

Cypress. Kinds

Conical or pyramidal shaped evergreens. The foliage is pressed closely to the bark.

The cones ripen in the 2nd year of plant growth. It is believed that there are about 25 types of cypress in total, but only 10 species are used as decorative ones.

Here are the most common types that everyone uses in landscape design:


Larch. Kinds

Diameter – meter, height – 50m. The branches grow in a chaotic order. Soft needles. Scientists have identified 15 species of larch plants. Widely used:

  • Viminalis;
  • Rapens;
  • Corley;
  • Kornik (in the form of a ball);
  • Diana (spiral-shaped branches, ash-colored needles);

Thuja. Kinds

Cypress family. It is very popular in Ukraine as an ornamental plant.

Unpretentious, able to get used to and get along in any conditions: frost, drought, poor soil.

Strong rhizome, branches growing upward, columnar or pyramidal tree shape, cones ripen in the first year of growth.

  • Arbor vitae

Highlights special essential oils, this has a great effect on human health. Therefore, the presence of a person and the opportunity to breathe thuja air has a beneficial effect on a person. Frost-resistant, drought-resistant, heat-loving, fastidious to the soil.

  • Eastern yellow

Grows quickly and thickly. The plant loves light, does not tolerate shade, and is not drought-resistant; it loves abundant watering.

  • Western Danica

Dwarf.

Pine. Kinds

There are only about 12 species, but only 11 are particularly common. The breed is distinguished by the number of needles on the branches. By the way, pine trees are distinguished by the fragrant smell of needles.

IT IS IMPORTANT TO KNOW:

It is not advisable to plant in open ground- dry up. It is better to plant pine trees from July to September.

There are several types of pine trees, some are large, grow in parks, for example, by themselves and decorate with their size and power, and specially grown dwarfs decorate personal plots.

Mountain pine is especially common, growing in Western Europe up to 12 meters high:

  • Dwarf. Height – 2 meters, needles – 4 meters;
  • Columnaris is a shrub with dense needles;
  • Pug – spherical shape of branches;
  • Mini Pug;
  • Globosa Viridis – ovoid shape, long needles.

Main habitat coniferous forests is a vast taiga zone with a cold climate located in northern Eurasia and North America. In the north, the taiga borders on the tundra, sometimes going beyond the Arctic Circle (in Taimyr north of 72° northern latitude, in Scandinavia, in Alaska), in the south it extends to mixed forests, forest-steppes and steppes. The southern border reaches the 42nd parallel on the Japanese island of Honshu. In more warm places Coniferous forests do not create a continuous zone, forming forest areas and ecoregions. There are many temperate coniferous forests in western and southeastern North America and Eurasia. In the tropics, for example South America, in Australia, they are less common, mainly in the mountains. [

Most of the coniferous forests belong to the taiga - natural area northern coniferous forests. In addition to these, temperate coniferous forests and tropical and subtropical coniferous forests form woodlands and ecoregions.

Based on the density of the canopy, dark coniferous and light coniferous forests are distinguished. Dark coniferous forests consist of trees of shade-tolerant species: different types of spruce, fir and Siberian pine, and light coniferous forests consist of trees of light-loving species: different types of larch and Scots pine. Dark coniferous forests have a high canopy density and canopy density, so they have low lighting and poor soil warming. Therefore, the podzol formation process is slower, coarse humus accumulates and, as a result, the soils are less fertile. The openwork of the crowns of light coniferous forests allows you to get under the canopy more precipitation and light, soil warming improves. Therefore, the ground cover and undergrowth develop more intensively. There are also mixed coniferous forests formed by both dark coniferous and light coniferous species.

In the taiga, the main forest-forming species, usually of single-tiered stands, belong mainly to the genera Spruce (Picea), Pine (Pinus), Fir (Ábies) and Larch (Larix).
In northern Europe, the most common species is Norway spruce (Pícea ábies). To the south, Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) is widely present in spruce-pine and pine forests.
Western Siberia is the habitat of spruce-larch, larch-cedar-pine, cedar-pine. The Yenisei taiga is represented in the south by spruce-fir-birch forests, in the middle part by spruce-cedar-birch forests, in the north by spruce-cedar-larch-birch forests. In the Tunguska taiga, Siberian larch (Lárix sibírica) is common with an admixture of spruce and pine, or with an admixture of spruce and fir in wetter places; in the Angara basin they predominate pine forests.
IN Eastern Siberia Larch forests predominate, mostly sparse, with developed grass cover. The undergrowth is represented by dwarf cedar (Pinus pumila), Daurian rhododendron (Rhododendron dauricum), and bush birch (Betula fruticosa). The main forest-forming species are Siberian larch and Daurian larch (Lárix gmélinii); in the mountains of Transbaikalia, Siberian pine (Pinus sibirica) and spruce are common. In Yakutia, Dahurian larch predominates with an admixture of pine, birch and aspen.

Among the huge variety of temperate vegetation climate zone special place occupied by coniferous trees. They appeared on the planet many millions of years ago and are one of the main sources of oxygen. Their role in economic activity person is invaluable. Coniferous plants are used in medicine, chemical and cosmetic industries.

Characteristics of coniferous species

Coniferous species include tree and shrub forms. Found in almost every corner globe V mixed forests or taiga zone. By the degree of illumination of the areas they occupy, one can judge what kind of coniferous trees there are. The names determine their light-loving nature. These are dark coniferous and light coniferous species.

Are among the most ancient class, which, in turn, includes the following family types:

  • Araucariaceae inhabit forests Southern Hemisphere. Plants of this species are very demanding of moisture and heat. They have wide leaves, large cones and seeds. Bark and wood highlights a large number of resin. They are considered rare and have only about forty varieties.
  • Podocarps grow in the moist, marshy soils of the Australian continent and Asia. The family includes more than one hundred and forty species. Leaves may be different sizes and forms.
  • Pine trees are a large family occupying vast territories. In Siberia they form natural biomes called taiga. These include more than two hundred and fifty evergreen and deciduous species.
  • Cypress trees grow in northern and southern latitudes. The trees grow up to seventy meters in height and have a very wide trunk. Shrubs are characterized by slow growth and can be tall or creeping.

Modern conifers are vascular plants; their seeds develop inside cones. They are long-lived; the oldest tree is nine thousand years old. Trees of this species are also record holders for height.

Dark coniferous trees

The most popular varieties include:

  • Juniper has needles of various shades - from green to golden. It belongs to the lower tier of coniferous and mixed forests. Lives in temperate climate the Eurasian continent, northern Africa and the United States of America. At home, it does not require special care due to its unpretentiousness.
  • Berry yew - rare view evergreens. Habitat includes southern regions of Europe and Russian Federation. Yew attracts attention with its small light green needles and reddish berries that ripen in the fall. Grows in light, alkaline soils with high humidity.
  • Thuja has a cone-shaped crown with emerald-colored needles. Very unpretentious and resistant to winter cold. It harmonizes well with flowering plants, so it is often planted in garden plots and city squares.

Beautiful appearance and the wide variety of species allows the use of coniferous shrubs for landscape design in any region.

Coniferous forest is one of the most interesting wildlife objects on our planet. A lot of effort has been spent on its study and not in vain - after all, the forest has always been a source of untold wealth for humans.

Coniferous forests grow mainly in areas with cold climates. If we imagine their location on the globe, we will see a wide belt covering the northern part of Russia, Scandinavia, Canada and America. At the same time, there are few relict forests left; they are gradually being replaced by artificially planted ones.

The main trees of the coniferous forest are cedar, pine, fir, and larch. These species have different requirements for soil moisture and fertility, which is why forests are divided into two types - dark coniferous (spruce, fir, cedar) and light coniferous (pine, larch). In Russia, a mixture of these two types is often found.

Like any other forests, coniferous forests have several floors (tiers). The tiers of a coniferous forest are usually clearly defined. Upper (arboreal), understory (or shrub), herbaceous-shrub layer and moss-lichen cover. However, due to insufficient light in dark coniferous forests, the understory and herbaceous-shrub layer may be absent.

The species composition of plants depends on the degree of illumination, soil composition and many other factors. But there are plants of the coniferous forest that are recognized as its characteristic and integral part. Shrubs include juniper, currant, buckthorn, and willow. Shrubs – blueberries, lingonberries, cranberries, heather. Herbs – Ivan tea, angelica, hogweed, sorrel, wintergreen and many others. The most typical species for coniferous forests are ferns and mosses (moss moss, sphagnum moss).

As already noted, the diversity of species largely depends on the quality of the soil. The soil of a coniferous forest can be not only clayey, but also loamy and sandy. Coniferous forests grow both on rocky outcrops and in swampy areas.

An area dominated by spruce and cedar trees may seem gloomy and unsociable. Their branches tightly close together, creating an impenetrable barrier sun rays. Who would want to live in such a place? There are a lot of people who want to do it. Here you can hear the chatter of woodpeckers, the hooting of the tawny owl and the great owl, the sharp cries of the jung and the trill of the nutcracker. Wood grouse, grouse, crossbills, tits, chickadees, wrens - all of them are birds of the coniferous forest. Without some of them (nutcrackers, crossbills), its very existence would be difficult.

It’s good to go to a pine or spruce forest to pick mushrooms. The dry earth, covered with a thick layer of pine needles, seems to spring under your feet, urging you on. In the spruce forest there are boletus, chanterelles, russula, saffron milk caps, puffballs, and champignons. The pine forest will delight you with boletus, honey mushrooms, pigs, and greenfinches. Milk mushrooms and rows - autumn mushrooms coniferous forest.

What else will the forest, where giant cedars and slender pines reign, give its guests? Pine nuts, essential oils, berries, medicinal herbs- this is a small fraction of all his treasures. And let's not forget about hunting and fishing.

The trees themselves are actively used in construction and production. various materials. Forests also play a huge role in creating an atmosphere suitable for breathing.

Today, many people have appreciated the benefits that come from relaxing in a coniferous forest. And it becomes a tradition to gain strength not only on the seashore, but also in the green thicket.

Inhale the aromas of resin, pine needles and listen to the singing of the wind in the crowns. Picking mushrooms, berries, and pine cones are already forms of active pastime. What can I say about dark nights and conversations around the fire?


Coniferous trees - beauty all year round, their resistance to changing seasons invariably attracts gardeners and landscape designers. For the most part, they are undemanding in terms of growing conditions and care, and can withstand both summer heat and winter cold. In addition, currently there are many varieties of coniferous plants - trees and shrubs; choosing something suitable for a given site is not at all difficult.

Spruce

Spruce is a landscape classic, an evergreen tree suitable for any site. Spruce will look great both as a central element and as a background for other plants; in a single planting, in a group, in the form of a hedge. Currently, there are more than 40 species of spruce, including species natural origin, and hybrid varieties. Many of natural species There are several decorative varieties.

Spruce is a long-living tree, in Sweden national park There is a spruce tree that is 9550 years old. This is a record figure even for spruce trees, whose life expectancy is on average 200-500 years. Centenarian received given name- Old Tikko.

The spruce grows slowly, in 10 years it grows to only one and a half meters in height, but it grows for centuries. IN natural nature this tree can be seen in forests Northern Hemisphere. Spruce forest– dark and dense, most often without undergrowth, consisting of beautiful, slender trees up to 30 meters high.

Spruce is a monoecious tree, the crown is cone-shaped or pyramidal, with a whorled, prostrate or drooping arrangement of branches.

The roots of young trees are taproots, but with age the main root dries out and is replaced by numerous shoots that spread horizontally and shallowly in the ground.

The bark is gray or brown-gray, with thin flaky plates. The needles are tetrahedral, short, sharp, green. Each needle grows separately, from a leaf cushion, which becomes noticeable after the needles fall.

The cones are oblong and pointed, up to 15 cm long, 3-4 cm in diameter. They do not crumble, but fall off after the seeds ripen in the year of fertilization. The lionfish seeds ripen in October and fall out of the cones. At this time, the wind picks them up and carries them around. Once in favorable conditions, they germinate and give life to a new tree, their germination capacity lasts about 10 years.

In the photo, one of the representatives of the family is a dwarf Canadian blue spruce:

Cedar

Cedar is another coniferous tree that has numerous forms that are attractive to designers. Naturally, if it is real cedar, and not cedar pine. Cedar differs from other coniferous trees in the arrangement of its needles; they are collected in bunches of 20-50 pieces, whereas in pines and spruces they are single. A similar fastening of needles is observed in larch, but its needles are soft, while those of cedar are prickly and hard, and do not fall off in the fall.

Cedar cones stand on the branches, and do not hang down, like those of pines and spruces. They are similar in shape to fir cones, but rounder. After ripening, they crumble into pieces, while the seeds are scattered by the wind.

The shape of the crown is also unique. In Lebanese cedar it is wide, spreading like an umbrella. The branches in it are arranged in tiers, the symmetry of which is not observed in all trees. The needles are green, gray-green, blue-green, the length of the needles is 3-4 cm, they are collected in bunches of 30-40 pieces.

Atlas cedar

Atlas cedar has a cone-shaped crown, which makes it similar to a regular spruce. Its needles are also collected in bunches, they are very short - about 2.5 cm. The color is silver-gray or blue-green.

There is even a weeping form of Atlas cedar, which, without a doubt, will become the highlight of the landscape, especially if it is a rocky Japanese garden with a natural or artificial pond. Let's look at the photo:

Atlas cedar

Its branches hang down just like those of a weeping willow, only instead of delicate leaves there are prickly needles that look unusual, but are quite gentle and attractive:

Atlas cedar

Himalayan cedar

Himalayan cedar has a wide cone-shaped crown with a blunt top and horizontally growing branches. But it also has hanging shoots, although a non-specialist will easily mistake it for a spruce of a slightly unusual shape:

Himalayan cedar

The needles of the Himalayan cedar are light green, up to 4-5 cm long, and grow in bunches.

Despite certain differences, cedars have a lot in common. All of them are evergreen trees that grow up to 50-60 meters in height. IN early age grow slowly, then increase in height faster.

The bark of young specimens is smooth, but with age it becomes scaly, cracking, and dark gray in color.

Cypress

Cypress is a completely different matter, special kind in the family of evergreen coniferous trees and shrubs. It’s not for nothing that in the East it is considered the standard of harmony. This tree with its entire appearance seems to indicate that it will not take up much space in your garden and will not require special care. But not all cypresses are laconic; among them there are also shrubs with wide, spreading crowns. This large family consists of 20 genera and 140 species.

Cypress prefers warm climate. In the Northern Hemisphere it can be seen in tropical and subtropical zones, on the coasts of the Black and Mediterranean seas. And also in the Himalayas, the Sahara, and China. In the Western Hemisphere it grows in Central America, Mexico and the southern states of the USA.

The leaves of cypress trees are small, at first they are needle-shaped, like needles, then scale-like, tightly pressed to the branches. Cypress is a monoecious plant - male and female flowers appear on the same tree. The cones are ovoid or round, ripen in the second year after appearance, the seeds are flattened, with wings.

Cypress evergreen

Evergreen cypress is a tree that can be seen on Black Sea coast Caucasus and Crimea. Its height reaches 30 meters, the crown is narrow, columnar, with short branches raised up and pressed to the trunk. It has been cultivated since ancient times; it is a true long-liver, capable of living for more than 2 thousand years. In Turkey it is considered a tree of sorrow and is planted in cemeteries. In the photo are evergreen cypress trees:

Cypress evergreen

Arizona cypress

Arizona cypress, native to southwestern regions USA and Mexico. This is a fairly tall tree, up to 20 meters high, with well-developed roots. Despite its southern origin, it can withstand frosts down to -25 degrees, but young trees must be covered with agrofibre for the winter.

Arizona cypress

Large-fruited cypress

Large-fruited cypress has a columnar crown. But this feature occurs only in young specimens; with age, the branches become gentle, bend and form a wide, spreading crown.

The needles of large-fruited cypress have a pleasant lemon scent, so it is readily grown in winter gardens or in bonsai culture.

Large-fruited cypress

Weeping Cypress

Weeping cypress has drooping branches. The plant comes from China, where it is often planted in cemeteries.

Cypress is also part of the Cypress family, and there are 7 species that grow in the Northern Hemisphere. The plant is evergreen, monoecious, coniferous, with a cone-shaped crown. Branches growing upward or prostrate and drooping, trunk scaly, brown or brown. Under natural conditions it grows up to 70 meters, in culture – up to 20-30 meters.

The leaves of the cypress are pointed and look like small scales. The cones are not large, woody, round, up to 12 mm in diameter. The seeds ripen in the first year.

Weeping Cypress

Lawson's cypress

Lawson's cypress is a tall and slender tree with a narrow cone-shaped crown that widens downwards. Its top is tilted to one side. The trunk has thick, red-brown bark, which becomes patchy and scaly over time. The needles are shiny, green, with whitish stripes. The cones are oval and round, about 1 cm in diameter, light brown, with a bluish-blue coating.

In general, the tree is very beautiful, looks great in alleys and in plantings along with other types of cypress trees, but, unfortunately, low frost resistance does not allow it to be grown in regions with harsh winters. In the photo there is a Lawson cypress:

Lawson's cypress

Pea cypress

Pea-bearing cypress is a tall, up to 30 meters, tree with a cone-shaped crown, native to Japan. Outwardly, from a distance it looks like deciduous trees, but its needles are the same as those of all members of the family.

Pea cypress

Cryptomeria

Cryptomeria - the name of this evergreen tree is often written or pronounced along with the definition: “Japanese”. And not without reason - the tree comes from the Japanese islands and is considered a symbol of the Country. Rising Sun, and has a second name: Japanese cedar. Although it belongs to the Cypress family, it does not belong to the cedar genus.

There is only one species of this plant in nature; there are no hybrid varieties based on it yet, although it has been known in cultivation since 1842. In Russia, it is grown in Crimea and on the Caucasian coast of the Black Sea.

The tree is quite tall and fast-growing, growing up to 70 meters. The crown is dense but narrow. The bark is fibrous, red-brown, the trunk is massive - up to 4 meters in diameter.

The needles are subulate, more like rose thorns than needles, but up to 3 cm longer. The color of the needles is light green, but in winter it acquires a yellowish tint.

The tree is monoecious, male flowers grow from the axils of the shoots in bunches. Female single, located at the ends of the shoots. The cones are round, 2 cm in diameter, ripen in the first year, but fall off the following summer. Seeds with wings, about 5-6 mm in length.

In the photo, Cryptomeria japonica:

Cryptomeria japonica

Larch

Larch is a deciduous tree of the Pine family. The leaves of this tree are very similar to needles, but in the fall they fall off and appear again in the spring, like deciduous trees, that’s why in Russia it is called larch. There are 20 species of this tree in total, 9 of them grow in Russia.

The tree is large, up to 50 meters high, and a trunk diameter of about 1 meter. The growth per year is 1 meter, larch is a long-liver, capable of living up to 400 years, but it is rarely used in culture.

Its crown is not dense, in young specimens it is cone-shaped, in areas with constant winds may be one-sided or flag-shaped. The root system is strong, branched, without a pronounced main root, but with numerous and deeply extending lateral processes.

The needles are soft, bright, grow spirally on long shoots, and in bunches on short shoots, like cedar. In autumn it falls off completely. Monoecious tree with male and female flowers. Seeds develop in female cones from 15-20 years of age.

From a distance, larch can be mistaken for a beautiful spreading spruce:

Larch

Microbiota

Microbiota is a coniferous shrub of the Cypress family. There is only one species of this plant - cross-paired microbiota, growing on Far East Russia. The number of the species is declining due to the fact that seeds cannot spread far from the parent bush, and perennial thickets are destroyed forest fires, therefore the species is included in the Red Book of Russia.

It is a prostrate shrub with creeping thin shoots, so it can be mistaken for the creeping form of the thuja. The needles are scaly, green in summer and brown in winter, in young plants it can be needle-shaped on shaded shoots. The cones are small, single-seeded, and consist of 2-3 scales. The root system is fibrous and dense.

The microbiota grows very slowly, producing only 2 cm of growth per year, but is distinguished by its longevity - it can grow in culture for more than 100 years. In general, microbiota looks very appropriate in single and group plantings, therefore it is always in demand among gardeners. On the picture:

Microbiota

Juniper

Juniper is a dioecious, coniferous plant of the Cypress family, very common in the Northern Hemisphere. Various climatic zones The planet is inhabited by more than 70 species of this plant, some of which thrive in Russian spaces and can live up to 600 years.

Tree-like junipers are capable of forming separate forests, while shrubby ones grow as an understory or third layer in coniferous and deciduous forests, as well as on rocky slopes.

Juniper shrubs are creeping, with shoots about 1.5 meters long, but tree-like forms can reach 30 meters in height.

Juniper leaves are opposite, needle-shaped, oblong. In young specimens they can be in the form of needles, in adult plants they can be scale-like, pressed to the stems. The berries are cone-shaped, with tightly closed scales, each containing from 1 to 10 seeds, which ripen in the 2nd year.

Juniper

Fir

Fir is a coniferous tree of the Pine family. Just like cedar, its cones grow upward and fall apart on the tree. Up to 50 species of fir grow in the Northern Hemisphere. The tree is powerful and tall - up to 60 meters, with a moderately spreading cone-shaped crown.

The bark of the trunk is gray; in different species it can be smooth and thin throughout its life, or thick and fissured.

In the photo there are Korean fir cones:

The root is taproot, strongly recessed. The needles are flat, with a pointed or rounded tip, located singly or spirally on the branches.

The cones are cylindrical, ripen in 1 summer, disintegrate in the fall, releasing seeds with wings, carried by the wind.