Identify by feature
Conifer with prickly needles: which one is it?
A conifer with stiff needles that prick is usually a spruce (Norway spruce or Colorado blue spruce), a cedar or a common juniper; with broad, triangular, sharp leaves it is a monkey puzzle.
9 species with this feature
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Norway spruce Picea abies
Conifer
Needles 1–2.5 cm, stiff, pointed and square in cross-section (you can roll them between your fingers). They grow all round the twig on small woody pegs that remain when the needle falls.
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Colorado blue spruce Picea pungens
Conifer
Needles 2–3 cm, square in cross-section, very stiff and sharply pointed, blue-grey to silvery blue (‘Glauca’), all round the shoot on small woody pegs.
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Sitka spruce Picea sitchensis
Conifer
Needles 1.5–3 cm, stiff, flattened and very sharply pointed; green above, with two broad blue-white bands below. They grow all round the twig on small woody pegs.
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Common juniper Juniperus communis
Shrubby conifer
Needles 1–2 cm, very sharp, in whorls of 3, with a single broad white stripe on the upper side.
Native
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Cedar Cedrus
Conifer
Needles 1.5–3.5 cm (deodar up to 5 cm), stiff and sharp; in tufts on short shoots, single on young shoots. Evergreen.
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Atlas cedar Cedrus atlantica
Conifer
Needles 1.5–2.5 cm, stiff and sharp, in tufts on short shoots and single on young shoots; green to silvery blue-grey (‘Glauca’). Evergreen.
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Cedar of Lebanon Cedrus libani
Conifer
Needles 2–3 cm, stiff and sharp, dark green to grey-green; in tufts on short shoots and single on young shoots. Evergreen.
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Monkey puzzle Araucaria araucana
Conifer
Leathery, triangular leaves of 3–5 cm with a spiny tip, spiralled and overlapping all round the branches; they stay on for 10–15 years.
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Ornamental juniper Juniperus
Shrubby conifer
Young shoots with needles, older ones with scale-like leaves; often blue-grey with a resinous scent.
Tip: Roll a needle between thumb and finger: if it rolls, it is square and the tree is a spruce. Needles in tufts mean a cedar; in whorls of three, a juniper.