Needle (botany)

Pinophyta Temporal range: Carboniferous – Recent PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N
Conifer forests, though comprising few species, cover vast areas, as in this forest in the Cascade Range of western North America.
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Spermatophyta
(unranked):	Gymnospermae
Division:	Pinophyta
Class:	Pinopsida
Orders and families
Cordaitales † Pinales   Pinaceae—Pine family   Araucariaceae—Araucaria family   Podocarpaceae—Yellow-wood family   Sciadopityaceae—Umbrella-pine family   Cupressaceae—Cypress family   Cephalotaxaceae—Plum-yew family   Taxaceae—Yew family Vojnovskyales † Voltziales †
Synonyms
Coniferophyta Coniferae

Cordaitales †
Pinales
  Pinaceae—Pine family
  Araucariaceae—Araucaria family
  Podocarpaceae—Yellow-wood family
  Sciadopityaceae—Umbrella-pine family
  Cupressaceae—Cypress family
  Cephalotaxaceae—Plum-yew family
  Taxaceae—Yew family
Vojnovskyales †
Voltziales †

The Pinophyta, also known as Coniferophyta or Coniferae, or commonly as conifers, are a division of vascular land plants containing a single class, Pinopsida. They are gymnosperms, cone-bearing seed plants. 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. As of 1998, the division Pinophyta was estimated to contain eight families, 68 genera, and 629 living species.