Conifer

Conifera
Trees of a Pinophyta species: Araucaria heterophylla (Araucariaceae)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Pinophyta Class: Pinopsida
Orders & Families
Cordaitales † Pinales   Pinaceae – Pine family   Araucariaceae – Araucaria family   Podocarpaceae – Yellow-wood family   Sciadopityaceae – Umbrella-pine family   Cupressaceae – Cypress family   Cephalotaxaceae – Plum-yew family   Taxaceae – Yew family Vojnovskyales † Voltziales †

The Conifers are cone-bearing seed plants, mostly trees with some shrubs. They are formally the Division Pinophyta or Coniferophyta.

Conifers are Gymnosperms. They are cone-bearing seed plants with vascular tissue; all living conifers are woody plants, the great majority being trees.

Typical examples of conifers include cedars, cypresses, firs, junipers, kauris, larches, pines, redwoods, spruces, and yews.

Species of conifers can be found in almost all parts of the world, and are often the most common plants in their habitats, as in the taiga. Conifers are of great economic value, and their wood is mainly used for timber and paper making The wood of conifers is known as softwood, though yew wood is actually quite hard. The division Coniferae contains about 700 living species.

They were the dominant land plants of the Mesozoic era. They were overtaken by the flowering plants, which first appeared in the Cretaceous, and became dominant in the Cainozoic era. Conifers were the main food of herbivorous dinosaurs, and their resins and poisons would have given protection against herbivores.