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.

Conifers are trees that bear their seeds in cones (hence the name conifer). The vast majority of conifers have needle-like (e.g. pine or fir) or scale-like leaves (e.g. cypress or juniper). Most conifer species keep their needles all year, so we often refer to these trees as “evergreen” (larches are an exception).

All conifers produce cones, which are incorrectly called pinecones since not all conifers that produce cones are true pines. Cones are made up of scales attached to a center stalk. In between the overlapping scales the seeds can be found. The scales on the cones help us identify the various species.

All extant conifers are perennial woody plants with secondary growth. The great majority are trees, though a few are shrubs. Examples include cedars, Douglas-firs, cypresses, firs, junipers, kauri, larches, pines, hemlocks, redwoods, spruces, and yews.