Conifer

1. Vivek Srivastava
Lovely Professional University
© Vivek Srivastava
viveksrivastava09@gmail.com

7. Coniferae
• The conifers, division Pinophyta, also known as
division Coniferophyta or , are one of 13 or 14 division
level taxa within the Kingdom Plantae. Pinophytes are
gymnosperms. They are cone-
bearing seed plants with vascular tissue; all extant
conifers are woody plants, the great majority being
trees with just a few being shrubs. Typical examples of
conifers include cedars, Douglas-firs, cypresses, firs,
junipers, kauri, larches, pines,hemlocks
, redwoods, spruces, and yews. The division contains
approximately eight families, 68 genera, and 630 living
species.

9. Although the total number of species is relatively small,
conifers are of immense ecological importance. They are
the dominant plants over huge areas of land, most notably
the boreal forests of the northern hemisphere ,[
but also in
similar cool climates in mountains further south. Boreal
conifers have many wintertime adaptations. The narrow
conical shape of northern conifers, and their downward-
drooping limbs help them shed snow. Many of them
seasonally alter their biochemistry to make them more
resistant to freezing, called "hardening". While tropical
rainforests have more biodiversity and turnover, the
immense conifer forests of the world represent the largest
terrestrial carbon sink, i.e. where carbon from atmospheric
CO2 is bound as organic compounds.

10. Conifer
The name ‘conifer’ comes from Latin and means ‘cone bearing’. All conifers bear
their male and female reproductive organs in separate cones (strobili) rather than
in flowers. Trees usually bear both male and female cones. Male cones produce
pollen grains which are transported to the female cones by wind. The seeds
subsequently develop within the female cones. In some genera, such as Juniperus
and Podocarpus, these may be fleshy. The foliage of conifers is either needle-like
(eg Pinus, Abies) or scalelike (egCupressus, Chamaecyparis), and most conifers,
with the exception of four genera, are evergreen trees and shrubs. The conifers
belong to the group of seed plants known as the gymnosperms. Gymnosperm
literally means ‘naked seed’. This is the main characteristic which differentiates
them from the more advanced flowering plants (angiosperms) which bear their
seeds encased in an ovary that becomes the fruit. Other gymnosperms include
ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba) and cycads.

11. 1. To fertilize the ovum, the male cone releases pollen that is carried on
the wind to the female cone. (Male and female cones can be found
on the same plant)
2. The pollen fertilizes the female gamete (located in the female cone).*
3. A fertilized female gamete (called a zygote) develops into an embryo.
4. Along with integument cells surrounding the embryo, a seed develops
containing the embryo. This is an evolutionary characteristic of the
gymnosperms.
5. Mature seed drops out of cone onto the ground.
6. Seed germinates and seedling grows into a mature plant.
7. When the plant is mature, the adult plant produces cones and the
cycle continues.
Life Cycle

14. Chir Pine
• Common name: Chir pine, Himalayan longleaf
pine, Chir चीड (Hindi), Wuchan (Manipuri)
Botanical name: Pinus
roxburghii Family: Pinaceae (pine family)
Synonyms: Pinus longifolia

15. • Trees to 55 m tall and over 100 cm dbh. Bark dark
red-brown, thick, deeply and longitudinally
fissured, scaly; winter buds brown, small, ovoid,
not resinous. Leaves 3 per bundle, slender,
flabellate-triangular in cross section, 20-30 cm ×
1.5 mm, resin canals 2, median, base with
persistent sheath 2-3 cm long. Seed cones shortly
pedunculate, ovoid, 10-20 × 6-9 cm. Seed scales
oblong, thick, stiff; apophyses strongly swollen,
conspicuously transversely ridged; umbo
triangular, protruding. Seeds 8-12 mm long; wing
ca. 2.5 cm long. Seed maturity Oct-Nov

16. • Distribution and Ecology
• Himal: Bhutan; India: Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab,
Himanchal Pradesh, Uttarakhand; Nepal; Pakistan;
Sikkim; Afghasistan; S Tibet; in mountains at 450-2300
m elevation. Limited to the monsoon belt between
72°-95°E and 27°-35°N (Wu and Raven 1999, Arya et
al. 2000). Within its range, it is not only a common
species, but is also the most widely planted conifer,
and comprises 17% of the forested area of Nepal
(Gauli et al. 2009).
• Zone 9 (cold hardiness limit between -6.6°C and -1.1°C)

25. Among the principal pines found in India, chir pine is the most important. Native to the
Himalayas, it is good as a street tree too. This is one of the least exacting of the
Himalayan trees growing sometimes on bare rocks where only a few species are
capable of existing. It is a resinous tree capable of yielding resin continuously provided
rill method of tapping is adopted. Erect, round-headed evergreen tree with one or more
trunks. Grows at moderate rate to 30 ft., with spread of 20 ft at maturity. The bark is
red-brown, thick and deeply fissured at the base of the trunk, thinner and flaky in the
upper crown. The leaves are needle-like, in fascicles of three, very slender, 20-35 cm
long, and distinctly yellowish green. The flowers are monoecious (individual flowers are
either male or female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant) and are
pollinated by wind. The cones are ovoid conic, 12-24 cm long and 5-8 cm broad at the
base when closed, green at first, ripening glossy chestnut-brown when 24 months old.
They open slowly over the next year or so.

26. Medicinal uses: The turpentine obtained from the resin of
all pine trees is antiseptic, diuretic, rubefacient and vermifuge.
It is a valuable remedy used internally in the treatment of
kidney and bladder complaints and is used both internally and
as a rub and steam bath in the treatment of rheumatic
affections. It is also very beneficial to the respiratory system
and so is useful in treating diseases of the mucous
membranes and respiratory complaints such as coughs, colds,
influenza and TB. Externally it is a very beneficial treatment
for a variety of skin complaints, wounds, sores, burns, boils
etc and is used in the form of liniment plasters, poultices,
herbal steam baths and inhalers. The wood is diaphoretic and
stimulant. It is useful in treating burning of the body, cough,
fainting and ulcers

27. Picea smithiana
Picea smithiana, the Morinda Spruce or West Himalayan Spruce, is
a spruce native to the western Himalaya and adjacent mountains,
from northeast Afghanistan east, India to central Nepal . It grows at
altitudes of 2,400-3,600 m in forests together with Deodar
Cedar , Blue Pine and Pindrow Fir.
Picea smithiana is a large evergreen tree growing to 40–55 m tall
(exceptionally to 60 m), and with a trunk diameter of up to 1–2 m. It
has a conical crown with level branches and usually pendulous
branchlets.
The shoots are pale buff-brown, and glabrous (hairless). The leaves
are needle-like, the longest of any spruce, 3–5 cm long, rhombic in
cross-section, mid-green with inconspicuous stomatal lines. The cones
are broad cylindric-conic, 9–16 cm long and 3 cm broad, green when
young, maturing buff-brown and opening to 5–6 cm broad 5–7
months after pollination; the scales are stiff and smoothly rounded.
Morinda Spruce is a popular ornamental tree in large gardens in
western Europe for its attractive pendulous branchlets. It is also
grown to a small extent in forestry for timber and paper production,
though its slower growth compared to Norway Spruce reduces its
importance outside of its native range. The name morinda derives
from the tree's name in Nepalese.

32. Abies pindrow
The Pindrow Fir or West Himalayan Fir (Abies pindrow) is a fir native to the
western Himalaya and adjacent mountains, from northeastAfghanistan east
through northern Pakistan and India to central Nepal. It grows at altitudes of
2,400–3,700 metres (7,900–12,100 ft) in forests together with Deodar
Cedar, Blue Pine and Morinda Spruce, typically occupying cooler, moister north-
facing slopes.
It is a large evergreen tree growing to 40–60 metres (130–200 ft) tall, and with a
trunk diameter of up to 2–2.5 metres (6 ft 7 in–8 ft 2 in). It has a conical crown
with level branches.
The shoots are greyish-pink to buff-brown, smooth and glabrous (hairless).
The leaves are needle-like, among the longest of any fir, 4–9 centimetres (1.6–
3.5 in) long, flattened in cross-section, glossy dark green above, with two
whitish stomatal bands on the underside; they are arranged spirally on the
shoots, but twisted at the base to lie in a flat plane either side of the shoot.
The cones are broad cylindric-conic, 7–14 centimetres (2.8–5.5 in) long and 3–4
centimetres (1.2–1.6 in) broad, dark purple when young, disintegrating when
mature to release the seeds 5–7 months after pollination.

33. The West Himalayan Fir (Abies pindrow)
is a frost hardy perennial evergreen conifer. It grows well in any light
situation., and prefers high levels of water. It has no drought tolerance and low
flood tolerance.
Abies pindrow grows in soils ranging from a pH of 5 (extremely acidic ranges
from 0 to 5.1) to 7 (neutral ranges from 6.6 to 7.5). It is adapted to clay, loam,
sand, clay loam, loamy sand, peat, sandy clay, sandy clay loam and sandy loam
soils.

37. Himalayan Cedar tree - Cedrus deodara
The Himalayan Cedar is
one of the true cedars
and is a close relative to
the Cedar of
Lebanon and the Atlas
Cedar. It can be
distinguished from these
other two by the length
of its leaves (up to 2
inches long) and by the
number of leaves on
reach "rosette" (12-15).

38. Another distinguishing
feature of the Himalayan
Cedar is that the new
branches tend to hang
down in a sort of "weeping
tree" manner. In the
images below you can see
the new leaves that are
growing at the center of
each rosette.