Needle-like leaves of a pine tree.
Linear leaves of Douglas fir.
Awl-like leaves of Japanese cryptomeria.
Each little diamond shaped structure is a scale-like leaf on the branchlets of this juniper.
The mature female pinecone of an Italian stone pine. It is composed of scales; the seeds were between the scales.
Male cones on a pine tree.
Young female cones on pine tree.
Round woody cones of Monterey cypress. Each cone is composed of 8 to 14 diamond shaped scales, each with  a small projection in its center.
Cedar cones are upright on
the stem.
The Douglas fir cone has unique bracts between the scales that make it easy to identify.

You are probably already aware of this Division; they are commonly called “conifers”,“evergreens” or "narrowleaf evergreens". This Division includes many types of plants such as pines, cedar, redwood, juniper, cypress and yew trees to name a few.

Characteristics of the division include:

     1. leaves that are needle-like, linear, awl-like or scale-like

2. There is no flower. The reproductive structure that is comparable to a flower (producing
   the male pollen and female egg) is a cone. There are male cones and female cones. Some
   conifers have male and female cones on the same individual tree while other species have
   plants with only male or female cones.

   In some cases, this can have horticultural significance. The Hollywood juniper is a female
   cultivated variety of the Chinese juniper. Because it is a female plant, it doesn't produce
   any pollen (only male cones produce pollen). Many people are allergic to juniper pollen,
   so the female Hollywood juniper is an "allergy free" plant.

3. The seed is not enclosed inside an ovary. It is inside a structure called a cone, but it is
    not enclosed inside a true ovary (more about ovaries when we cover the flowering
    plants).

STUDENT RESEARCH QUESTIONS:
2. Give three examples of trees in the Division Coniferophyta not listed above.
3. Do an internet search ("yew leaf image"). Which of the four leaf shapes illustrated above
   fits for the yew? Please include the URL with your answer (cut and paste).
4. What is the name of the structure enclosing the seed in yew trees?
5. What is a "closed cone pine"? Give an example of a closed cone pine that grows in
   California.
6. Name a deciduous evergreen (try search: deciduous coniferophyta)

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Division Coniferophyta - the conifers