In elementary school, every child learns that conifers don't have leaves, they have narrow needles. Only deciduous trees have more or less broad leaves. You can read in the following article that this statement is not quite correct: Firstly, there are actually coniferous tree species with leaves and secondly, needles are also leaves - they are just as capable of photosynthesis as any other foliage.
The Kauri tree is a conifer
Needles are also leaves
The main task of a tree is photosynthesis, in which chlorophyll absorbs sunlight and converts it into usable energy. It is also this chlorophyll that gives the plants their green colour, regardless of whether they are deciduous or coniferous trees, shrubs, flowers or algae. Consequently, the needles of the conifers, as conifers are called in Latin, are also simple leaves. They are just shaped differently than those of deciduous trees. For this reason, botanists do not speak of "needles" but of a "needle leaf" or "needle-shaped leaf".
Exotic: conifer with leaves
Incidentally, there are actually conifers that do not develop typical needles, but rather more or less broad leaves. A typical example of this are the Kauri trees (Agathis) native to Southeast Asia, New Zealand and Australia, whose dark green leaves are flat, elongated-oval and quite wide at the base. There are around 17 different species that cannot be cultivated here. Some thorny yew plants (Podocarpaceae) bear little resemblance to needles, such as the Afro yellowwood (Afrocarpus gracilior) native to East Africa or the broad-leaved thorny yew (Podocarpus latifolius) growing in South Africa. We do not cultivate these species either.
A leafy tendril grows from the coniferous tree - what is behind it?
However, if prickly shoots with broad leaves suddenly grow out of your coniferous tree, then it is most likely mistletoe. This plant is an evergreen, parasitic species that can often be found in clumps in the treetops in some regions. Sometimes, however, these food parasites also live in the middle of the tree trunk (so-called "full parasites"), so that their leafy shoots seem to grow out of the actual conifer. Mistletoe (Viscum album L.), which grows extremely slowly and mainly affects deciduous trees as well as firs and pines, is very common here.
tips
In general, the needle shapes and colors in conifers are very varied. There are long and short needles, thick and thin, soft and sharp, green, blue and yellow…