The conifers, division Pinophyta, also known as division Coniferophyta or Coniferae, are one of 13 or 14 division In biology, a phylum [note 1] is a taxonomic rank below Kingdom and above Class. "Phylum" is equivalent to the botanical term division level taxa A taxon is a group of (one or more) organisms, which a taxonomist adjudges to be a unit. Usually a taxon is given a name and a rank, although neither is a requirement. Defining what belongs or does not belong to such a taxonomic group is done by a taxonomist. It is not uncommon for one taxonomist to disagree with another on what exactly belongs to within the Kingdom Plantae Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. They include familiar organisms such as trees, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. About 350,000 species of plants, defined as seed plants, bryophytes, ferns and fern allies, are estimated to exist currently. As of 2004, some 287,655 species had been. Pinophytes are gymnosperms Gymnosperm is a group of spermatophyte seed-bearing plants with ovules on scales, which are usually arranged in cone-like structures. The other major group of seed-bearing plants, the angiosperms, [from the Greek, 'angion' - container] have ovules enclosed in a carpel, a sporophyll with fused margins. A carpel consists of a stigma, style and the. They are cone-bearing seed plants Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. They include familiar organisms such as trees, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. About 350,000 species of plants, defined as seed plants, bryophytes, ferns and fern allies, are estimated to exist currently. As of 2004, some 287,655 species had been with vascular Vascular plants are those plants that have lignified tissues for conducting water, minerals, and photosynthetic products through the plant. Vascular plants include the ferns, clubmosses, flowering plants, conifers and other gymnosperms. Scientific names for the group include Tracheophyta and Tracheobionta, but neither name is very widely used.[ tissue; all extant conifers are woody plants A woody plant is a plant that is made up of wood. It is a vascular plant that has a perennial stem that is above ground and covered by a layer of thickened bark. Woody plants are adapted to survive from one year to the next; the stem supports continued vegetative growth above ground from one year to next, the great majority being trees A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to 6 m; some authors set a minimum of 10 cm trunk diameter with just a few being shrubs A shrub or bush is a horticultural rather than strictly botanical category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 5-6 m tall. A large number of plants can be either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience. Small, low shrubs such as lavender, periwinkle and. Typical examples of conifers include cedars, douglas-firs Douglas-fir is the English name applied in common to evergreen coniferous trees of the genus Pseudotsuga in the family Pinaceae. There are five species, two in western North America, one in Mexico, and two in eastern Asia. 19th Century botanists had problems in classifying Douglas-firs due to the species' similarity to various other conifers, cypresses, firs Firs are a genus of between 45-55 species of evergreen conifers in the family Pinaceae. All are trees, reaching heights of 10-80 m (30-260 ft) tall and trunk diameters of 0.5-4 m (2-12 ft) when mature. Firs can be distinguished from other members of the pine family by their needle-like leaves, attached to the twig by a base that resembles a small, junipers Junipers are coniferous plants in the genus Juniperus of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on taxonomic viewpoint, there are between 50-67 species of juniper, widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, from the Arctic, south to tropical Africa in the Old World, and to the mountains of Central America, kauris The genus Agathis, commonly known as kauri or dammar, is a relatively small genus of 21 species of evergreen trees in the very ancient Araucariaceae family of conifers. While initially widespread during the Jurassic period they are now found only in small areas of the southern hemisphere. The trees have characteristically very large trunks and, larches Larches are conifers in the genus Larix, in the family Pinaceae. They are native to much of the cooler temperate northern hemisphere, on lowlands in the far north, and high on mountains further south. Larches are among the dominant plants in the immense boreal forests of Russia and Canada, pines See Pinus classification for complete taxonomy to species level. See list of pines by region for list of species by geographical distribution, redwoods Sequoia sempervirens is the sole living species of the genus Sequoia in the cypress family Cupressaceae (formerly treated in Taxodiaceae). Common names include Coast Redwood and California Redwood (it is one of three species of trees known as redwoods, but "redwood" per se normally refers to this species). It is an evergreen, long-lived,, spruces A spruce is a tree of the genus Picea , a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the Family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the earth. Spruces are large trees, from 20–60 (–95) m tall when mature, and can be distinguished by their whorled branches and conical form. The needles, or, and yews The family Taxaceae, commonly called the yew family, includes three genera and about 7 to 12 species of coniferous plants, or in other interpretations , six genera and about 30 species[1]. The division contains approximately eight families, 68 genera, and 630 living species[2][3]. Although the total number of species is relatively small, conifers are of immense ecological Ecology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the distribution and abundance of organisms and their interactions with their environment. The environment of an organism includes all external factors, including abiotic ones such as climate and geology, and biotic factors, including members of the same species (conspecifics) and other species importance. They are the dominant plants over huge areas of land[4], most notably the boreal forests Taiga is a biome characterized by conifer forests. The taiga can be described as rather cold (almost like the tundra), with many trees (like the deciduous forest, except the trees aren't deciduous). Covering most of inland Alaska, Canada, Sweden, Finland, inland Norway, Highland Scotland and Russia (especially Siberia), as well as parts of the of the northern hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of the equator—the word hemisphere literally means 'half sphere'. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator. Earth's northern hemisphere contains most of its land area and most of its human population[5], but also in similar cool climates in mountains further south. While tropical rain forests have more biodiversity and turnover, the immense conifer forests of the world represent the largest terrestrial carbon sink, i.e. where carbon is bound as organic compounds. They are also of immense economic value, primarily for timber Lumber or timber is wood that is used in any of its stages from felling through readiness for use as structural material for construction, or wood pulp for paper production and paper Paper is thin material mainly used for writing upon, printing upon or for packaging. It is produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from wood, rags or grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets production[6][7]; the wood of conifers is known as softwood Softwood is wood obtained primarily from coniferous trees . With the exception of bald cypress, tamarack, and larch, softwood trees are evergreens. Softwood is mostly obtained from the Baltic, Scandinavia, and North America and is the source of about 80% of the world's production of timber. Softwoods of longleaf pine, douglas fir, and yew are much.
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Dan Goldstein
Mon, 27 Jul 2009 13:15:10 GM
Yesterday, Diane and I hiked to the top of the hill at Meyer Ranch Park Open Space in Aspen Park. There are about four miles of trails to the top. We went.
Q. A conifer that has both male and female cones will produce many more pollen grains than ovules. How does that help the conifer reproduce?
Asked by me - Mon Feb 23 19:18:47 2009 - - 2 Answers - 0 Comments
A. Conifers are wind pollinated, they don't depend on animals or insects to carry the pollen from the male cone to the female cone. Because the wind disperses the pollen, it doesn't all reach the female cones, in fact a very small percentage would. So by producing much more pollen than ovules, there's a better chance that at least some of the pollen will reach an ovule.
Answered by Dean M. - Tue Feb 24 04:54:44 2009
