conifer
Other forms: conifers
A conifer is a type of tree that produces cones and evergreen needles. Spot a pile of cones beneath a tree and you've found yourself a conifer.
With the word cone embedded in it, it's no surprise that conifer is the term used for cone-producing trees. Conifers can often be identified by their typically long needle-shaped leaves like the kind you find on a Christmas tree. Mostly found in northern forests where the winters are cold, the tough prickly leaves on conifers make them adaptable to the weather.
Definitions of conifer
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any gymnospermous tree or shrub bearing cones
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synonyms:
coniferous tree
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types:
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pine, pine tree, true pine
a coniferous tree
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larch, larch tree
any of numerous conifers of the genus Larix all having deciduous needlelike leaves
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Pseudolarix amabilis, golden larch
Chinese deciduous conifer resembling a larch with golden yellow leaves
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fir, fir tree, true fir
any of various evergreen trees of the genus Abies; chiefly of upland areas
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cedar, cedar tree, true cedar
any cedar of the genus Cedrus
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spruce
any coniferous tree of the genus Picea
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hemlock, hemlock tree
an evergreen tree
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douglas fir
tall evergreen timber tree of western North America having resinous wood and short needles
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Cathaya
Chinese evergreen conifer discovered in 1955; not yet cultivated elsewhere
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cedar, cedar tree
any of numerous trees of the family Cupressaceae that resemble cedars
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cypress, cypress tree
any of numerous evergreen conifers of the genus Cupressus of north temperate regions having dark scalelike leaves and rounded cones
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Athrotaxis selaginoides, King William pine
evergreen of Tasmanian mountains having sharp-pointed leaves that curve inward
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Metasequoia glyptostrodoides, dawn redwood, metasequoia
large fast-growing Chinese monoecious tree having flat bright-green deciduous leaves and small globular cones; commonly cultivated in United States as an ornamental; known as a fossil before being discovered in China
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arborvitae
any of several Asian and North American conifers of the genera Thuja and Thujopsis
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keteleeria
Asiatic conifers resembling firs
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Wollemi pine
newly discovered (1994) pine thought to have been long extinct; Australia; genus and species names not yet assigned
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araucaria
any of several tall South American or Australian trees with large cones and edible seeds
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dammar pine, kauri pine
any of various trees of the genus Agathis; yield dammar resin
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plum-yew
any of several evergreen trees and shrubs of eastern Asia resembling yew and having large seeds enclosed in a fleshy envelope; sometimes cultivated as ornamentals
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celery pine
Australasian evergreen conifer having a graceful head of foliage resembling celery that is composed of phyllodes borne in the axils of scalelike leaves
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podocarp
any evergreen in the southern hemisphere of the genus Podocarpus having a pulpy fruit with one hard seed
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Podocarpus coriaceus, yacca, yacca podocarp
West Indian evergreen with medium to long leaves
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Podocarpus elatus, Rockingham podocarp, brown pine
large Australian tree with straight-grained yellow wood that turns brown on exposure
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African yellowwood, Podocarpus elongatus, cape yellowwood
South African tree or shrub having a rounded crown
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Podocarpus totara, totara
valuable timber tree of New Zealand yielding hard reddish wood used for furniture and bridges and wharves
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Dacrycarpus dacrydioides, New Zealand Dacryberry, New Zealand white pine, Podocarpus dacrydioides, kahikatea
New Zealand evergreen valued for its light easily worked wood
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Dacrydium cupressinum, imou pine, red pine, rimu
tall New Zealand timber tree
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Dacrydium colensoi, tar-wood, tarwood
New Zealand silver pine of conical habit with long slender flexuous branches; adapted to cold wet summers and high altitudes
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Falcatifolium falciforme, common sickle pine
small tropical rain forest tree of Indonesia and Malaysia
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Falcatifolium taxoides, yellow-leaf sickle pine
a rain forest tree or shrub of New Caledonia having a conic crown and pale green sickle-shaped leaves; host species for the rare parasite yew
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Dacrydium bidwilli, Halocarpus bidwilli, New Zealand mountain pine, tar-wood, tarwood
New Zealand shrub
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Lagarostrobus colensoi, silver pine, westland pine
timber tree of New Zealand having shiny white wood
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Dacrydium franklinii, Lagarostrobus franklinii, huon pine
Tasmanian timber tree with yellow aromatic wavy-grained wood used for carving and ship building; sometimes placed in genus Dacrydium
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Nageia nagi, nagi
medium-sized tree having glossy lanceolate leaves; southern China to Taiwan and southern Japan
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Podocarpus ferruginea, Prumnopitys ferruginea, black pine, miro
New Zealand conifer used for lumber; the dark wood is used for interior carpentry
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Podocarpus spicata, Prumnopitys taxifolia, black pine, matai
conifer of Australia and New Zealand
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Prumnopitys andina, Prumnopitys elegans, plum-fruited yew
South American evergreen tree or shrub
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Prince Albert yew, Prince Albert's yew, Saxe-gothea conspicua
small yew having attractive foliage and partially weeping branches cultivated as an ornamental; mountains of southern Chile
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Podocarpus amara, Prumnopitys amara, Sundacarpus amara
a large fast-growing monoecious tropical evergreen tree having large glossy lanceolate leaves; of rain forests of Sumatra and Philippines to northern Queensland
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Japanese umbrella pine, Sciadopitys verticillata
tall evergreen having a symmetrical spreading crown and needles growing in whorls that resemble umbrellas at ends of twigs
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yew
any of numerous evergreen trees or shrubs having red cup-shaped berries and flattened needlelike leaves
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pinon, pinyon
any of several low-growing pines of western North America
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Pinus glabra, spruce pine
large two-needled pine of southeastern United States with light soft wood
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Pinus nigra, black pine
large two-needled timber pine of southeastern Europe
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Pinus rigida, northern pitch pine, pitch pine
large three-needled pine of the eastern United States and southeastern Canada; closely related to the pond pine
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Pinus serotina, pond pine
large three-needled pine of sandy swamps of southeastern United States; needles longer than those of the northern pitch pine
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European nut pine, Pinus pinea, stone pine, umbrella pine
medium-sized two-needled pine of southern Europe having a spreading crown; widely cultivated for its sweet seeds that resemble almonds
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Pinus cembra, Swiss pine, Swiss stone pine, arolla pine, cembra nut tree
large five-needled European pine; yields cembra nuts and a resinous exudate
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Pinus mugo, Swiss mountain pine, dwarf mountain pine, mountain pine, mugho pine, mugo pine
low shrubby pine of central Europe with short bright green needles in bunches of two
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Pinus longaeva, ancient pine
small slow-growing pine of western United States similar to the bristlecone pine; chocolate brown bark in plates and short needles in bunches of 5; crown conic but becoming rough and twisted; oldest plant in the world growing to 5000 years in cold semidesert mountain tops
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white pine
any of several five-needled pines with white wood and smooth usually light grey bark when young; especially the eastern white pine
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yellow pine
any of various pines having yellow wood
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Jeffrey pine, Jeffrey's pine, Pinus jeffreyi, black pine
tall symmetrical pine of western North America having long blue-green needles in bunches of 3 and elongated cones on spreading somewhat pendulous branches; sometimes classified as a variety of ponderosa pine
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Pinus contorta, lodgepole, lodgepole pine, shore pine, spruce pine
shrubby two-needled pine of coastal northwestern United States; red to yellow-brown bark fissured into small squares
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Pinus contorta murrayana, Sierra lodgepole pine
tall subspecies of lodgepole pine
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Pinus taeda, frankincense pine, loblolly pine
tall spreading three-needled pine of southeastern United States having reddish-brown fissured bark and a full bushy upper head
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Pinus banksiana, jack pine
slender medium-sized two-needled pine of eastern North America; with yellow-green needles and scaly grey to red-brown fissured bark
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swamp pine
any of several pines that prefer or endure moist situations such as loblolly pine or longleaf pine
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Canadian red pine, Pinus resinosa, red pine
pine of eastern North America having long needles in bunches of two and reddish bark
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Pinus sylvestris, Scotch fir, Scotch pine, Scots pine
medium large two-needled pine of northern Europe and Asia having flaking red-brown bark
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Jersey pine, Pinus virginiana, Virginia pine, scrub pine
common small shrubby pine of the eastern United States having straggling often twisted or branches and short needles in bunches of 2
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Monterey pine, Pinus radiata
tall California pine with long needles in bunches of 3, a dense crown, and dark brown deeply fissured bark
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Pinus aristata, Rocky Mountain bristlecone pine, bristlecone pine
small slow-growing upland pine of western United States (Rocky Mountains) having dense branches with fissured rust-brown bark and short needles in bunches of 5 and thorn-tipped cone scales; among the oldest living things some over 4500 years old
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Pinus pungens, hickory pine, prickly pine, table-mountain pine
a small two-needled upland pine of the eastern United States (Appalachians) having dark brown flaking bark and thorn-tipped cone scales
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Pinus attenuata, knobcone pine
medium-sized three-needled pine of the Pacific coast of the United States having a prominent knob on each scale of the cone
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Japanese red pine, Japanese table pine, Pinus densiflora
pine native to Japan and Korea having a wide-spreading irregular crown when mature; grown as an ornamental
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Japanese black pine, Pinus thunbergii, black pine
large Japanese ornamental having long needles in bunches of 2; widely planted in United States because of its resistance to salt and smog
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Pinus torreyana, Torrey pine, Torrey's pine, grey-leaf pine, sabine pine, soledad pine
medium-sized five-needled pine of southwestern California having long cylindrical cones
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American larch, Larix laricina, black larch, tamarack
medium-sized larch of Canada and northern United States including Alaska having a broad conic crown and rust-brown scaly bark
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Larix occidentalis, Oregon larch, western larch, western tamarack
tall larch of western North America have pale green sharply pointed leaves and oblong cones; an important timber tree
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Larix lyallii, subalpine larch
medium-sized larch of the Rocky Mountains; closely related to Larix occidentalis
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European larch, Larix decidua
tall European tree having a slender conic crown, flat needlelike leaves, and hairy cone scales
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Larix russica, Larix siberica, Siberian larch
medium-sized larch of northeastern Russia and Siberia having narrowly conic crown and soft narrow bright-green leaves; used in cultivation
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silver fir
any of various true firs having leaves white or silvery white beneath
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Abies bracteata, Abies venusta, Santa Lucia fir, bristlecone fir
a pyramidal fir of southwestern California having spiny pointed leaves and cone scales with long spines
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Cedrus libani, cedar of Lebanon
cedar of Lebanon and northwestern Syria that attains great age and height
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Cedrus deodara, Himalayan cedar, deodar, deodar cedar
tall East Indian cedar having spreading branches with nodding tips; highly valued for its appearance as well as its timber
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Atlas cedar, Cedrus atlantica
tall Algerian evergreen of Atlas mountains with blue-green leaves; widely planted as an ornamental
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Norway spruce, Picea abies
tall pyramidal spruce native to northern Europe having dark green foliage on spreading branches with pendulous branchlets and long pendulous cones
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Brewer's spruce, Picea breweriana, weeping spruce
medium-sized spruce of California and Oregon having pendulous branches
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Engelmann spruce, Engelmann's spruce, Picea engelmannii
tall spruce of Rocky Mountains and British Columbia with blue-green needles and acutely conic crown; wood used for rough lumber and boxes
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Picea glauca, white spruce
medium-sized spruce of northeastern North America having short blue-green leaves and slender cones
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Picea mariana, black spruce, spruce pine
small spruce of boggy areas of northeastern North America having spreading branches with dense foliage; inferior wood
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Picea obovata, Siberian spruce
tall spruce of northern Europe and Asia; resembles Norway spruce
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Picea sitchensis, Sitka spruce
a large spruce that grows only along the northwestern coast of the United States and Canada; has sharp stiff needles and thin bark; the wood has a high ratio of strength to weight
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Picea orientalis, oriental spruce
evergreen tree of the Caucasus and Asia Minor used as an ornamental having pendulous branchlets
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Colorado blue spruce, Colorado spruce, Picea pungens, silver spruce
tall spruce with blue-green needles and dense conic crown; older trees become columnar with lower branches sweeping downward
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Picea rubens, eastern spruce, red spruce, yellow spruce
medium-sized spruce of eastern North America; chief lumber spruce of the area; source of pulpwood
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Canadian hemlock, Tsuga canadensis, eastern hemlock, spruce pine
common forest tree of the eastern United States and Canada; used especially for pulpwood
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Carolina hemlock, Tsuga caroliniana
medium-sized evergreen of southeastern United States having spreading branches and widely diverging cone scales
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Tsuga mertensiana, black hemlock, mountain hemlock
large evergreen of western United States; wood much harder than Canadian hemlock
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Pacific hemlock, Tsuga heterophylla, west coast hemlock, western hemlock
tall evergreen of western North America; commercially important timber tree
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Oregon fir, Oregon pine, Pseudotsuga menziesii, douglas hemlock, douglas pine, douglas spruce, green douglas fir
lofty douglas fir of northwestern North America having short needles and egg-shaped cones
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Pseudotsuga macrocarpa, big-cone douglas fir, big-cone spruce
douglas fir of California having cones 4-8 inches long
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Cupressus goveniana, gowen cypress
small sometimes shrubby tree native to California; often used as an ornamental; in some classification systems includes the pygmy cypress and the Santa Cruz cypress
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Cupressus goveniana pigmaea, Cupressus pigmaea, pygmy cypress
rare small cypress native to northern California; sometimes considered the same species as gowen cypress
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Cupressus abramsiana, Cupressus goveniana abramsiana, Santa Cruz cypress
rare California cypress taller than but closely related to gowen cypress and sometimes considered the same species
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Arizona cypress, Cupressus arizonica
Arizona timber tree with bluish silvery foliage
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Cupressus guadalupensis, Guadalupe cypress
relatively low wide-spreading endemic on Guadalupe Island; cultivated for its bluish foliage
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Cupressus macrocarpa, Monterey cypress
tall California cypress endemic on Monterey Bay; widely used for ornament as well as reforestation and shelterbelt planting
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Cupressus lusitanica, Mexican cypress, Portuguese cypress, cedar of Goa
tall spreading evergreen found in Mexico having drooping branches; believed to have been introduced into Portugal from Goa
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Cupressus sempervirens, Italian cypress, Mediterranean cypress
tall Eurasian cypress with thin grey bark and ascending branches
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Austrocedrus chilensis, Chilean cedar
a small South American evergreen having coppery bark and pretty foliage
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Calocedrus decurrens, Libocedrus decurrens, incense cedar, red cedar
tall tree of the Pacific coast of North America having foliage like cypress and cinnamon-red bark
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Atlantic white cedar, Chamaecyparis thyoides, coast white cedar, southern white cedar, white cedar, white cypress
slow-growing medium-sized cedar of east coast of the United States; resembles American arborvitae
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Chamaecyparis lawsoniana, Lawson's cedar, Lawson's cypress, Oregon cedar, Port Orford cedar
large timber tree of western North America with trunk diameter to 12 feet and height to 200 feet
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Alaska cedar, Chamaecyparis nootkatensis, Nootka cypress, yellow cedar, yellow cypress
tall evergreen of the Pacific coast of North America often cultivated for ornament
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Cryptomeria japonica, Japan cedar, Japanese cedar, sugi
tall evergreen of Japan and China yielding valuable soft wood
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incense cedar
any of several attractive trees of southwestern South America and New Zealand and New Caledonia having glossy evergreen leaves and scented wood
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Libocedrus plumosa, kawaka
New Zealand timber tree resembling the cypress
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Libocedrus bidwillii, mountain pine, pahautea
evergreen tree of New Zealand resembling the kawaka
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Thuja plicata, canoe cedar, red cedar, western red cedar
large valuable arborvitae of northwestern United States
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American arborvitae, Thuja occidentalis, northern white cedar, white cedar
small evergreen of eastern North America having tiny scalelike leaves on flattened branchlets
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Oriental arborvitae, Platycladus orientalis, Thuja orientalis
Asiatic shrub or small tree widely planted in United States and Europe; in some classifications assigned to its own genus
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Thujopsis dolobrata, hiba arborvitae
slow-growing medium-large Japanese evergreen used as an ornamental
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Araucaria araucana, chile pine, monkey puzzle
large Chilean evergreen conifer having intertwined branches and bearing edible nuts
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Araucaria excelsa, Araucaria heterophylla, norfolk island pine
evergreen of Australia and Norfolk Island in the South Pacific
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Araucaria columnaris, new caledonian pine
very tall evergreen of New Caledonia and the New Hebrides similar to norfolk island pine
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Araucaria bidwillii, bunya bunya, bunya bunya tree
Australian conifer bearing two-inch seeds tasting like roasted chestnuts; among the aborigines the tree is hereditary property protected by law
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Araucaria cunninghamii, Moreton Bay pine, hoop pine
pine of Australia and New Guinea; yields a valuable light even-textured wood
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Agathis australis, kauri, kaury
tall timber tree of New Zealand having white straight-grained wood
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Agathis alba, Agathis dammara, amboina pine, amboyna pine
native to the Moluccas and Philippines; a source of dammar resin
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Agathis robusta, dundathu pine, queensland kauri, smooth bark kauri
Australian timber tree resembling the kauri but having wood much lighter in weight and softer
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Agathis lanceolata, red kauri
New Zealand tree with glossy leaves and scaly reddish-brown bark
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California nutmeg, Torreya californica, nutmeg-yew
California evergreen having a fruit resembling a nutmeg but with a strong turpentine flavor
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Torrey tree, Torreya taxifolia, stinking cedar, stinking yew
rare small evergreen of northern Florida; its glossy green leaves have an unpleasant fetid smell when crushed
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Phyllocladus asplenifolius, celery top pine, celery-topped pine
medium tall celery pine of Tasmania
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Phyllocladus trichomanoides, tanekaha
medium tall celery pine of New Zealand
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Alpine celery pine, Phyllocladus alpinus
small shrubby celery pine of New Zealand
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English yew, Old World yew, Taxus baccata
predominant yew in Europe; extraordinarily long-lived and slow growing; one of the oldest species in the world
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California yew, Pacific yew, Taxus brevifolia, western yew
small or medium irregularly branched tree of the Pacific coast of North America; yields fine hard close-grained wood
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Japanese yew, Taxus cuspidata
shrubby hardy evergreen of China and Japan having lustrous dark green foliage; cultivated in the eastern United States
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Florida yew, Taxus floridana
small bushy yew of northern Florida having spreading branches and very narrow leaves
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Austrotaxus spicata, New Caledonian yew
large yew native to New Caledonia; cultivated in eastern Australia and New Zealand and Hawaii
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Pseudotaxus chienii, white-berry yew
yew of southeastern China, differing from the Old World yew in having white berries
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type of:
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gymnospermous tree
any tree of the division Gymnospermophyta
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