The common classifications of trees are quite inaccurate. Many of the so-called deciduous (Latin, deciduus, falling off) trees are evergreen, such as holly, and, in the south, live oak, magnolia and cherry. So, too, some of the alleged "evergreens," like bald cypress and tamarack, shed their leaves annually.
Fig. 1. A Bamboo Grove, Kioto, Japan.
Fig. 2. Ginko Leaf.
Not all of the "conifers" bear cones. For example, the juniper bears a berry. The ginko, Fig. 2, tho classed among the "conifers," the "evergreens," and the "needle-leaf" trees, bears no cones, has broad leaves and is deciduous. It has an especial interest as being the sole survivor of many species which grew abundantly in the carboniferous age.
Also, the terms used by lumbermen, "hard woods" for broad-leaved trees and "soft woods" for conifers, are still less exact, for the wood of some broad-leaved trees, as bass and poplar, is much softer than that of some conifers, as Georgia pine and lignum vitae.
Another classification commonly made is that of "endogens" (inside growers) including bamboos, palms, etc., and exogens (outside growers) which would include both conifers and broad-leaved trees.