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Asked by to Amelia, Izzy, Sarah on 19 Mar 2014. This question was also asked by .
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Amelia Frizell-Armitage answered on 19 Mar 2014:
Evergreen plants are green all year round because they usually grow in places where the soil does not have many nutrients. The low amount of nutrients means that the tree would not be able to grow all it’s leaves at once in the spring – as do trees that lose their leaves – as there are never enough resources available at any one time to make that many leaves.
Instead evergreens have evolved to have small, needle like leaves, that last a long time. The leaves are tough so don’t get damaged easily so the tree doesn’t have to keep repairing them. This way the tree can just replace the odd leaf here and there as they fall off, as there are enough nutrients available to make one or two leaves at a time.
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Isabel Webb answered on 19 Mar 2014:
A big problem for plants in winter is that it is darker, and so they can’t get as much sunlight for photosynthesis. It is also cold and there is less water available. Many plants lose their leaves to avoid losing water through them.
Evergreen plants have evolved in cold areas where they might not survive growing back leaves. Instead they came up with adaptations. They have dark leaves with a lot of chlorophyll so they can make more use of the sunlight they do get. They also have more spines and needle- like leaves which have less water loss. These features are essential for surviving the winters!
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