This article is about the plant type. For other uses see Evergreen (disambiguation)
Evergreen has two meanings in relation to plants. The first meaning is that of a plant retaining its foliage year-round. Most
tropical plants are naturally evergreen, the main exceptions being some growing in arid climates or climates with an extreme dry season. In
temperate zones, however, few plants are evergreen; most are
deciduous. The majority of
Australian native plants are evergreen, replacing their leaves gradually throughout the year as they fall.
The other meaning of evergreen is that of conifer. Technically, this is incorrect since some conifers, the larch for example, are decidious and lose their needles once a year.