Conifers

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Plants characterized by needle-like or scale-like foliage that reproduce via cones instead of flowers are categorized as this group of trees and shrubs
2. This classification of trees and shrubs is distinguished by their evergreen foliage and cone-bearing reproductive structures
3. Trees or shrubs that stay green year-round and produce seeds inside cones instead of flowers

Etymology: Conifers take their name from the cone, the woody reproductive structure that gives the group its identity. The word is a compound of Latin "conus," meaning cone, and "-fer," meaning bearing or carrying, so a conifer is literally a cone-bearer. Latin "conifer" itself was used for pine-type trees, and the English word was formed directly from that Latin compound rather than inherited through any everyday vernacular. The name is a deliberate descriptive label rather than an ancient folk term. Its usefulness comes from the fact that cones are the feature that unites the group, even though their shapes vary enormously, from the tight scales of a spruce to the fleshy, berry-like seed structures of junipers. The plural "conifers" is simply the plural of the noun "conifer," so it refers to the whole group at once.

Synonyms: evergreens, pine trees