evergreen (redirected from evergreen plant)

evergreen, term commonly used as synonymous with conifer and applied also to all those broad-leaved plants that bear green leaves throughout the year. Of the latter, most are plants of the tropics, subtropics, and other areas where the growing season is prolonged (e.g., New Zealand and the Pacific Northwest of the United States). In colder climates various broad-leaved shrubs (e.g., box, holly, and members of the heath family) are evergreen. Some broadleaf evergreens shed all their leaves for a brief period; the rest lose them continually, producing new leaves as the old ones fall. The term "half-evergreen" is used for deciduous plants with relatively persistent leaves.

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evergreen

Any plant that retains its leaves through the winter and into the following summer or through several years. Many tropical species of broad-leaved flowering plants are evergreen, but in cold-temperate and Arctic areas the evergreens commonly are cone-bearing shrubs or trees (conifers), such as pines and firs. The leaves of evergreens usually are thicker and more leathery than those of deciduous trees and often are needlelike or scalelike in cone-bearing trees. A leaf (or needle) may remain on an evergreen tree for two years or longer and may fall during any season.