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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.

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.

ConiferThe 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.

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

Chir Pine

• Common name: Chir pine, Himalayan longleaf pine, Chir ची�ड (Hindi), Wuchan (Manipuri) Botanical name: Pinus roxburghii     Family: Pinaceae (pine family)Synonyms: Pinus longifolia

• 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

• 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)

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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).

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.