Scottsdale Bonsai Society

To understand the difference between junipers, pines, and conifers, it helps to think of them in terms of a family tree.

​The Simplest Way to Look at it is:

Conifer is the broad category (the “parent” group), while Pines and Junipers are two very different “children” within that group.

Conifers: The Big Category

​A conifer is any plant that reproduces using cones (the name literally means “cone-bearer”). Instead of flowers and fruits with seeds inside, they have “naked seeds” sitting on the scales of a cone. They are mostly evergreen (a few exceptions like larch).

Major conifer families include:

Pinaceae – pines, firs, spruces, cedars

Cupressaceae – junipers, cypress, arborvitae

Taxaceae – yews

Araucariaceae – Norfolk Island pine, monkey puzzle

Pines vs. Junipers: The Key Differences

​While both are conifers, they belong to different botanical families and look very different upon close inspection.

Visual Identification

Pines: If you pick a bunch of needles and they are attached at the base in a little “paper wrapper,” it’s a pine.

Junipers: If the foliage feels like a braid of scales or very short, prickly “awls,” and you see blue “berries,” it’s a juniper.

Why the Confusion?

The confusion often comes from common names. For example, the Eastern Red Cedar is actually a type of juniper (Juniperus virginiana). People often call any evergreen tree with needles a “pine tree,” but botanically, that is only accurate if it belongs to the genus Pinus.

Traits of Pines (Genus Pinus)

• Strong apical growth (want to grow straight up)
• Leaves (or needles) are slender, long, and in bundles (also called fascicles) of 2, 3, or 5
• Bark varies from smooth on young trees to deeply furrowed, ridged, or plated on older ones, with colors from reddish-brown to gray

Examples

Traits of Junipers (Genus Juniperus)

• Growth is highly variable in shape (ground cover or columnar)
• Leaves (or needles) are either sharp, awl-like or small, flat, scale-like
• Foliage color ranges from deep green to bluish-green
• Branches are flexible with long-lived foliage pads
• Bark is fibrous and excellent for deadwood (also called jin & shari)

Examples

Summary Checklist