Only five evergreens are native to Iowa. They are eastern white pine, red cedar, balsam fir, common juniper and yew. Evergreen or conifer trees differ from hardwoods or deciduous trees in that the leaves are needle like and the reproductive organs are borne in cones instead of flowers.
White pine is easy to identify.
Its leaves or needles occur in bundles or fascicles of five, 3-5 inches long, bluish green, with fine white lines or stomata. The cones are 3-6 inches long, gradually tapering, with cone scales without prickles and light tan to whitish in color on outer edge of the scales. The bark on young trees is smooth and light gray, becoming dark gray to black with flat plates separated by shallow fissures on older trees. The fine-textured leaves and the asymmetric shape of older trees make white pine one of the easiest conifers to identify from a distance. Its curved upper branches have a pronounced upward shape, and the length of its limbs often varies considerably from one whorl to the next.