CONIFER. (Lat. cone-bearers), an important natural order of exogenous plants, containing the pines, firs, juniper, yew, etc.: agreeing with the other exogenous orders generally in the structure of the stem and in the mode of vegetation, hut differing remarkably from most of them in having naked ovules—i.e., ovules which are not enclosed iu an ovary, but are fertilised by the direct application of the pollen to the foramen, without the intervention of style or stigma—and upon this account separated from them, along with eyeadacem (q.v.), by Lindley, Endicher, and others, as a distinct class, under the name gymnagens gymnospernur. The flowers are unisexual, the male and female sometimes on the same, sometimes on separate plants; the male flowers have either one stamen or one bundle of stamens, the anthers often crested; the female flowers are in cones or solitary; the place of ovaries is supplied by the flat scales of the cones, the ovules are usually in pairs on the face of the scales, either inverted or erect. The fruit is either a cone—the scales of which sometimes become fleshy, and are incor porated into a berry-like fruit—or a solitary naked seed. The seed has a hard crus taceous integument; the embryo is in the midst of fleshy, oily albumen; the cotyledons are either two, or numerous and whorled. The mode of branching is peculiar, numerous buds proceeding from the side of the main stem, so as. generally to form whorls of branches, which are generally almost horizontal in their direction, whilst the central vertical shoot runs up often with admirable straightness, and some of the C. attain a height unrivaled among other forest-trees, of which the (q.v.) of California affords the most noble example. The wood consists of punctated cells; the sides of the tubes or elongated cells which form it, and which are nearly of equal diameter, marked by circular disks, which, when highly magnified, exhibit a small internal circle surrounded by a larger external one. This peculiarity of the wood of the C. is important,
as enabling us to recognize it in a fossil state, and to refer many fossils, particularly of the coal formation, to thisorder. The leaves of the C. differ very widely from those of the closely allied order cycadacece. Most of the C. have very narrow veinless leaves, so that the Germans call them needle-woods (Nadelliolzer) in contradistinction to the other European forest-trees, which they call leaf-woods (Laubliiilzer). By far the greater number of them belong to the northern hemisphere. The C. are very long-lived; some of them are supposed to be capable of attaining an age of 2A0 or 3,000 years. When the stem of a coniferous tree is cut across, it does not sprout again from the root. The C., besides the great usefulness of the timber of many, are remarkably productive of turpentines (q.v.) and resins (q.v.). Astringent substances are also found in their bark, and fixed oil iu their seeds. The seeds of some species of pine and praucaria are used as food.
The C. are divided into-1. Abietinece, having inverted ovules and woody cones, as the pines, firs, larch, cedar,. araucaria, etc. 2. Cupressinece, with erect ovules, and either woody or fleshy cones, as the juniper, arbor-vitw, cypress, etc. 3. Taxinew, with solitary seeds, as the yew, gingko, etc. 4. Gnetacw, plants of comparatively humble growth, with jointed stems, often regarded as forming a distinct order. See SEA GRAPE. Lindley and others also make the tarineco a distinct order. See YEW.