Conifers

The name ‘conifer’ comes from Latin and means ‘cone bearing’. All conifers bear their male and female reproductive organs in separate cones (strobili) rather than in flowers. Trees usually bear both male and female cones. Male cones produce pollen grains which are transported to the female cones by wind. The seeds subsequently develop within the female cones. In some genera, such as Juniperus and Podocarpus, these may be fleshy. The foliage of conifers is either needle-like (eg Pinus, Abies) or scalelike (eg Cupressus, Chamaecyparis), and most conifers, with the exception of four genera, are evergreen trees and shrubs. The conifers belong to the group of seed plants known as the gymnosperms. Gymnosperm literally means ‘naked seed’. This is the main characteristic which differentiates them from the more advanced flowering plants (angiosperms) which bear their seeds encased in an ovary that becomes the fruit. Other gymnosperms include ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) and cycads.

Find out more about conifers

Distribution of confiers

Conifers at Kew

Uses

Plant profiles

Pinaceae

Araucariaceae

Cupressaceae

Cephalotaxaceae

Podocarpaceae

Taxaceae

Sciadopityaceae

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