### plant part | foliage | needle:

Acupuncture needle
* Most acupuncture needles used today are disposable and, therefore, there is no risk of infection.
* are about half the size of the smallest sized needles used for injection
  - two to three inches long
  - devices intended to pierce the skin in the practice of acupuncture
* are extremely thin and flexible
  - rather bendable like wire
  - federally approved medical devices
  - hair-thin and usually made out of stainless steel
  - much thinner than needles used to draw blood or give injections
  - scarcely thicker than a hair, solid, and polished smooth
  - solid, usually made of stainless steel, and are extremely flexible
* are very different from hypodermic needles sued for injections
  - fine and flexible, about the diameter of a human hair
* are very fine, about the size of a thick hair
  - flexible, and are about the diameter of a strand of human hair
* are very thin and solid and are made of stainless steel
  - solid, and are made from stainless steel
  - thin, much thinner than the hypodermic needles used for inoculations
  - very thin and flexible
* bear little resemblance to needles used in blood tests and injections.
* can unblock the obstruction and re establish energy flow.
* change energy flow, opening up channels.
* come in various strengths and lengths.
* do penetrate the skin, so they can cause bleeding.
* have no bore or hollow center through which fluids pass.
* used in the United States are all sterile and generally disposable.

Compass needle
* line up with magnetic fields.
* point toward the magnetic north pole during periods of normal polarity.

Conifer needle
* break down slowly, but still improve the soil over the long haul.
* have a thick, waxy coating of cutin that significantly reduces water loss.
* make a light, airy, attractive mulch.
* turn yellow-green.

Diseased needle
* are often uniformly brown at the tips, but never mottled.
* drop prematurely, the older ones first.
* exhibit dark green bands or scattered yellow to tan spots.

### plant part | foliage | needle:

Evergreen needle
* Some evergreen needles have coats
  - waxy coats
* are in bundles of three or infrequently in bundles of two or four
  - the solution for a short growing season
  - thick and often waxy to reduce water loss
* fall off from old age.
* have a waxy coating that serves as a protectant against wind and drought.
* make the soil porous and improve drainage.
* rain down covering bushes and forming deep layers of duff on the ground.
* survive for some years but eventually fall because of old age.

Fir needle
* snap when fresh, pine needles bend when fresh.
* span the branches of the trees.

Green needle
* Some green needles have bands
  - silvery bands
* can cause stains.

Infected needle
* become chlorotic, die, turn reddish-brown, and are shed.
* show yellow to reddish-brown spots or bands that extend around the needle
  - orbands that extend around the needles

### plant part | foliage | needle:

Pine needle
* can keep the ground warm, too
  - spark and wrappings cause chimney and roof fires
* decompose slowly and are less desirable in compost than leaves
  - slowly, are resistant to compaction, and are easy to work with
* form a carpet which discourages regeneration of native forest floor species.
* make a very good base material for an ericaceous compost
  - an excellent mulch because they are porous and moderately acid
* start turning brown, waiting patiently on their branches to drop.

Safer needle
* exist today that can prevent the spread of disease
  - cover, blunt, or retract needles after use
* save lives and money for health care facilities.

Pale foliage
* Most pale foliage turns color.
* turns bronze color