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The conifers, division Pinophyta, are one of 13 or 14 division level taxa within the Kingdom Plantae. They are cone -bearing seed plants with vascular tissue; all extant conifers are woody plants , the great majority being trees with just a few being shrubs .
They occupy about seven percent of the Earth's surface and harbour more than half of the planet's terrestrial plants and animals. Tropical evergreen forests are dense, multi-layered, and harbour many types of plants and animals. These forests are found in the areas receiving heavy rainfall (more than 200 cm annual rainfall). They are very dense.
A pine forest is an example of a temperate coniferous forest Forest communities dominated by huge trees (e.g., giant sequoia, Sequoiadendron gigantea ; redwood, Sequoia sempervirens ), unusual ecological phenomena, occur in western North America, southwestern South America, as well as in the Australasian region in such areas as southeastern ...
Fossil conifers included many diverse forms, the most dramatically distinct from modern conifers being some herbaceous conifers with no woody stems. [7] Major fossil orders of conifers or conifer-like plants include the Cordaitales, Vojnovskyales, Voltziales and perhaps also the Czekanowskiales (possibly more closely related to the Ginkgophyta).
A variety of both evergreen and deciduous trees may be present in the rich conifer swamp in addition to the dominant species. Thuja occidentalis: Northern white cedar, the dominant conifer, also known as arborvitae, a common landscape specimen in northern U.S. states and Canada. Abies balsamea: Balsam fir; Acer rubrum: Red maple
The great majority of conifer genera and species are evergreen, retaining their leaves for several (2–40) years before falling, but unusual deciduous conifers occur in five genera (Larix, Pseudolarix, Glyptostrobus, Metasequoia and Taxodium), shedding their leaves in autumn and leafless through the winter.
This page covers the conifers (class Pinopsida). For the background to this list see parent article List of the vascular plants of Britain and Ireland. All are part of the order Pinales. Status key: * indicates an introduced species and e indicates an extinct species.
The conifer forests of the Greater Antilles contain many endemics and relictual taxa. [1] [3] Many migratory birds and butterflies spend winter in tropical and subtropical conifer forests. This biome features a thick, closed canopy which blocks light to the floor and allows little underbrush.