In school, we were assigned to identify a particular type of tree. And I really have a lot of trouble of what type of conifer this is.

The picture I included here is from a small branch of the tree.

Needles in the picture is directly attached to a small branch. Needles are thin. The needles are not paired nor in clusters, each needle singly attaches to the branch. This is therefore not a pine tree. The needles are arranged randomly around the branch, spiral but not neatly around the branch. No pattern.

Average length of a needle is between 20-28 cm. It is not flat but can be rolled between the fingers. What's unique about each needle is that it has some sort of appendages/elevation all throughout the length of the needle. Kinda like the ones in the stalk of a horsetail plant. The brown patches are actually elevated parts of the needle which are like appendages.

Some needles have needles branching out of them. It is just like in cedars (but the needles are not flat). But around 95% of the needles are straight, not branched.

The tree itself is upright and. The branches that hold the needles tend to go downward and seem to sway. The height of the tree is around 3 stories high. When you scrape off the bark, the next layer is a reddish layer, I believe it is the sapwood? The cones are small (around an inch) and the wings are very small, thin but rigid.

I think it is not a pine tree because the needles are not in pairs or in clusters. I also think this is not a spruce because of the disorderly arrangement of the needles. And the needles are thin.

My hunch is that this is either a juniper or a cedar? I am not very sure. A clue would be the "appendages" throughout the needles. The tree can live here in our tropical climate in the Philippines although I am not sure if this was introduced from other countries. The tree is an evergreen.

May I ask for your help in identifying this kind of tree please? Thank you so very much and I'll be awaiting your reply.

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