The Christmas tree and its leaves

In winter at Christmas time you can see them shining and shining everywhere. Fir trees are particularly popular in winter because, unlike deciduous trees, they have no leaves and do not lose their needles. The scent of the needles on the Christmas tree gives the Christmas season an additional flair.

Why does a Christmas tree not have leaves but needles?

• Deciduous trees have leaves, while fir trees have needles. But why is that so? And why does a Christmas tree bloom all year round? The needles are structured completely differently than the leaves of a deciduous tree. They are smaller, thicker and harder than normal leaves.
• In summer, the leaves and also the needles store sunlight. Leaves are much thinner and softer than a needle and have no solid tissue. It would simply freeze to death in late autumn in cool temperatures. Therefore they fall off.
• However, the needles of a Christmas tree are very important for the environment and nature. The needles, like the deciduous trees, produce oxygen that people and animals urgently need.

This is how the Christmas tree needles survive the cold winter

• The small, hard needles of the Christmas tree have hardly any energy cells and a lot of strengthening tissue. This makes them stable and strong for the winter.


Conifers and their types - interesting facts

Do you like going for walks in the forest with your children? As soon as your offspring speak their first words...

• The needles still have something very special. Inside they have a kind of small sugar store. This serves as antifreeze in the cold winter and prevents freezing.
• This means that the needles do not pose any danger to the Christmas tree in winter. The needles can remain on the tree even in the cold season.

So you can see that a Christmas tree is very important for the environment and not just looks beautiful. In contrast to the leaves of a deciduous tree, its small needles guarantee that oxygen is produced even in winter.