: any of an order (Coniferales) of mostly evergreen trees and shrubs having usually needle-shaped or scalelike leaves and including forms (such as pines) with true cones and others (such as yews) with an arillate fruit
Any of an order of trees and shrubs, conifers usually have usually needle-shaped or scale-like leaves. Conifers include forms (such as pines) with true cones and others (such as yews) that bear a fruit. There are more than 550 species of conifers, and most are evergreen trees and shrubs. They grow throughout the world (except in Antarctica) and prefer temperate climate zones. They include the world's smallest and tallest trees. Conifers supply softwood timber used for general construction, boxes and crates, and other articles, as well as pulpwood for paper. The wood is also used as fuel and in the manufacture of cellulose products, plywood, and veneers. The trees are the source of resins, oils, turpentine, tars, and pharmaceuticals.
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the WebThe population is now moving north at a rate of 2.5 miles per decade, faster than any other conifer treeline that scientists have measured, in what should be one of the most inhospitable places on the planet for a tree.WIRED, 24 Aug. 2022 The past two decades have been hard on the West’s conifer forests, which have seen wave after wave of bark beetle epidemics turning once green landscapes brown and gray. Brian Maffly, The Salt Lake Tribune, 29 July 2022 The plan calls for thinning conifer trees that are less than 20 inches in diameter, standing dead trees and downed trees that died after the 2012-16 drought, according to project documents. Felicia Alvarez, Los Angeles Times, 7 July 2022 Over the years, conifer trees have encroached on the prairie meadows of the Oak Basin Prairies, reducing them by at least 20% since 1875. From Usa Today Network And Wire Reports, USA TODAY, 4 July 2022 The brand’s first limited-edition perfume oil, Understory, arrives this week and refers to the medley of flora along the forest floor, with notes of conifer evergreens, bay and moss blended with hints of jasmine, violet leaf and soft petals.New York Times, 23 June 2022 The fire's main fuel sources were brush, ponderosa pine and mixed conifer, the site stated. Angela Cordoba Perez, The Arizona Republic, 20 Apr. 2022 Around 1,208 personnel are responding to the fire located near Gallinas Canyon as heavy mixed conifer, ponderosa pine, brush and grass continue fueling it. Tori B. Powell, CBS News, 4 May 2022 Named after the moniker for subarctic conifer forests, the Taiga offers plenty of output and little range anxiety. Bryan Campbell, Robb Report, 25 Mar. 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
ultimately from Latin conifer cone-bearing, from conus cone + -fer