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Science and Nature
KAXE Morning Show

Phenology Report: Evergreen identification tips to answer needling questions

By Charlie Mitchell
Published May 30, 2024 at 1:29 PM CDT
White spruce cones dangle from their branches near Ham Lake on November 17, 2020. The cones are brown.
Contributed
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iNaturalist user dragonflygrl
White spruce cones dangle from their branches near Ham Lake on November 17, 2020.

KAXE Staff Phenologist John Latimer provides his weekly assessment of nature in Northern Minnesota. This is the week of May 28, 2024.

Evergreen identification mnemonics

In Minnesota, we’re blessed with a variety of evergreen species. How are we supposed to tell them all apart, though?

Here are some handy mnemonic (memory assisting) devices:

  • Pine needles emerge from the twig in a Pack. Spruce and Fir needles come out in Single File.
  • White pines have five needles per bunch, the same as the number of letters in WHITE.
  • Red pine needles are long. Scotch and Jack pine needles are short. A serving of RED wine needs a longer pour. A serving of JACK or SCOTCH is a short pour.
  • Jack pine cones are tightly sealed and open like a Jack-in-the-box when fire comes through.
  • To tell a spruce from a fir, roll a needle between your fingers. Spruce needles are Square in cross-section, and will Spin between your fingers. Fir needles are Flat, and don’t spin easily.
  • Spruce cones Sag beneath the branches. Fir cones Float above them. (Or: Balsam cones look like Balloons.)
  • A Balsam Fir has Blistery Bark.
  • Black spruce love Bogs.

Topics

  • Introduction (0:00-0:23) 
  • Precipitation (0:23-0:45) 
  • Forb development (0:45-8:51, 10:11-10:26) 
    • Clematis (0:56-2:27) 
    • Flowering wintergreen (aka gaywings or fringed polygala) (2:27-3:30) 
    • Wood anemone (3:30-3:44) 
    • Jack-in-the-pulpit (3:44-6:02) 
    • Northern wintercress (6:02-6:43) 
    • Starflower (6:43-7:41) 
    • Bluebead lily and Canada mayflower (7:41-7:54) 
    • Interrupted fern (7:54-8:51) 
    • Fruit trees and shrubs (10:11-10:26) 
  • Insects (8:51-11:28) 
    • Monarch and swallowtail butterflies (8:51-9:25) 
    • Bumblebees on lilacs (9:25-10:26) 
    • American tent caterpillar (10:26-11:28) 
  • Birds (11:28-13:55) 
    • Brown thrasher (11:28-12:39) 
    • Canada geese and the annual molt migration (12:29-13:55) 
  • Evergreen identification and development (13:55-16:33) 
    • Pines (14:18-15:18) 
    • Spruces and balsam fir (15:18-16:33) 
  • Deciduous tree development (16:33- 18:11)
    • Oaks (16:33-17:11) 
    • Sugar maples (17:11-17:23) 
    • Aspens (17:23-18:11) 
  • Conclusion (18:11-19:28) 

That does it for this week! For more phenology, subscribe to our Season Watch Newsletter or visit the Season Watch Facebook page.

Funding for this project was provided by the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR).

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KAXE Morning Show PhenologyKAXE Morning ShowTuesday Morning ShowKAXESpring PhenologyPhenology Report
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Charlie Mitchell
Charlie Mitchell (she/they) joined KAXE in February of 2022. Charlie creates the Season Watch Newsletter, produces the Phenology Talkbacks show, coordinates the Phenology in the Classroom program, and writes nature-related stories for KAXE's website. Essentailly, Charlie is John Latimer's faithful sidekick and makes sure all of KAXE's nature/phenology programs find a second life online and in podcast form.<br/><br/><br/>With a background in ecology and evolutionary biology, Charlie enjoys learning a little bit about everything, whether it's plants, mushrooms, or the star-nosed mole. (Fun fact: Moles store fat in their tails, so they don't outgrow their tunnels every time conditions are good.)
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