One for the botanists amongst us: are all evergreens coniferous?

[BigJim]

A strange thing to have an argument over, I'm sure you'll agree; but this is one my dad and I have been going over.

Is it true that all evergreens are not coniferous? If so, what evergreen is not coniferous? It was thought at first that holly might be one, but holly is apparently classified as coniferous, even though it doesn't bear cones.

What would be especially appreciated is if someone could direct me to a suitable authoratative website that states the answer to this question in totally explicit terms.

Ta muchly all. 🙂

 

[TMF Jeff]

I did a google search for "non-coniferous evergreen" and found this:

Of non-coniferous evergreen shrubs/small trees there are 'Gold Tip' box (Buxus sempervirens 'Gold Tip'), cherry laurel (Prunus laurocerasus), native holly (Ilex aquifolium), varieties of holly (I. aquifolium 'Bacciflava' (Yellow-fruited Holly) and I. aquifolium x altaclerensis 'Golden King' (Highclere Holly 'Golden King'), spotted laurel (Aucuba japonica 'Variegata'), and strawberry-tree (Arbutus unedo).

 

[BigJim]

Sometimes I wonder how I ever got a web-site up and running. Oh yeah, loads of clever people helped me. 😀

Cheers Jeff