List of conifers

Conifers are a large group of plants, with around 630 species. They are mostly trees but some conifers are shrubs. Conifers typically have needle-like leaves and their seeds form in cones. Some examples of conifers are pine trees, firs, cedars, cypresses, junipers and yews.

Firs are a family of conifers, found in mountains in the northern hemisphere. They are most closely related to cedars. Not to be confused with fur.

Pine trees or conifers come in all shapes and sizes, although most are quite large trees. They all have some features in common. They all have cones instead of flowers. They all have leaves that look like thin green needles. Most pine trees grow from one central point at the top of the tree only and do not branch, which gives most pine trees a distinctive cone shape. Some species do branch, but not as much as most other trees do. Because pine trees usually grow tall and straight without branching they are commonly grown as plantation timber to harvest their wood for building houses and furniture out of.

The yew tree is a kind of conifer originally from parts of Europe, Africa, Iran and Asia. It is a small to medium, slow-growing tree, reaching around 10 to 20 metres high. The leaves and seeds of the tree are very bitter and poisonous. The yew's pine cones are unusual, being more like a berry with a single seed. The berries are eaten by some kinds of birds.