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Article: Conifers
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- Plant Sciences
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CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 The Gale Group Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Conifers
Conifers are the largest, most widespread, and most economically important group of gymnosperms (nonflowering seed plants), including about 630 species divided into six or seven families. Conifers are the oldest extant group of seed plants, dating back to more than 280 million years in the fossil record. Some of the current families and genera have long fossil records; for example, remarkably well-preserved and modern-appearing cones of the genus
Araucaria
dating to 160 million years ago have been discovered, and a well-preserved fossil pine cone dating to 130 million years ago can be compared directly with cones of living pine trees.
Conifer Diversity
All conifers are woody ...