Abstract
The conifers are a diverse and ancient group of seed plants of monophyletic origin that arose more than 300 million years ago (Rothwell and Scheckler 1988). They are uniformly distinguished by their naked or exposed ovules during pollination, a trait they share with the cycads, the monotypic genus Ginkgo, and the gnetophytes. Collectively, these four taxa comprise the gymnosperms, which, along with the flowering plants (angiosperms), constitute the seed-bearing plants (Fig. 1.1).
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Adams, W. T., & Burczyk, J. (2000). Magnitude and implications of gene flow in gene conservation reserves. In A. Young, D. Boshier, & T. Boyle (Eds.), Forest conservation genetics: Principles and practice (pp. 215–244). Oxon/Collingwood: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) Publishing/CABI Publishing.
Adie, H., & Lawes, M. J. (2011). Podocarps in Africa: Temperate zone relicts or rainforest survivors? In B. L. Turner & L. A. Cernusak (Eds.), Ecology of the Podocarpaceae in tropical forests (Smithsonian Contributions to Botany, No. 95) (pp. 79–100). Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press.
Axelrod, D. I. (1959). Late tertiary evolution of the Sierran big-tree forest. Evolution, 13, 9–23.
Axelrod, D. I. (1964). The Miocene Trapper Creek flora of southern Idaho: University of California Publications in Geological. Science, 51, 1–148.
Bannister, M. (1965). Forest Research Institute, Rotorua, New Zealand. In The genetics of colonizing species: proceedings (p. 353). New York: Academic Press.
Boerjan, W., Ralph, J., & Baucher, M. (2003). Lignin biosynthesis. Annual Review of Plant Biology, 54(1), 519–549.
Brown, P. M. (2013). Rocky Mountain tree-ring research, OldList, a database of old trees. http://www.rmtrr.org/oldlist.htm. Accessed 21 Oct 2017.
Brundrett, M. C. (2008). Evolution of mycorrhizas. In Mycorrhizal associations: The web resource. http://mycorrhizas.info/evol.html. Accessed 21 Oct 2017.
Burczyk, J., Lewandowski, A., & Chalupka, W. (2004a). Local pollen dispersal and distant gene flow in Norway spruce (Picea abies [L.] Karst.). Forest Ecology and Management, 197(1), 39–48.
Burczyk, J., DiFazio, S. P., & Adams, W. T. (2004b). Gene flow in forest trees: How far do genes really travel? Forest Genetics, 11(3/4), 179.
Christenhusz, M. J. M., Reveal, J. L., Farjon, A., Gardner, M. F., Mill, R. R., & Chase, M. W. (2011). A new classification and linear sequence of extant gymnosperms. Phytotaxa, 19, 55–70.
Coomes, D. A., Allen, R. B., Bentley, W. A., Burrows, L. E., Canham, C. D., Fagan, L., Forsyth, D. M., Gaxiola-Alcantar, A., Parfitt, R. L., Ruscoe, W. A., Wardle, D. A., Wilson, D. J., & Wright, E. F. (2005). The hare, the tortoise and the crocodile: The ecology of angiosperm dominance, conifer persistence and fern filtering. Journal of Ecology, 93, 918–935.
Critchfield, W. B. (1985). The late quaternary history of lodgepole and jack pines. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 15(5), 749–772.
Critchfield, W. B., & Little, E. L., Jr. (1966). Geographic distribution of the pines of the world (no. 991). Washington, D.C.: US Department of Agriculture, Forest Service.
Cronquist, A., Takhtajan, A., & Zimmermann, W. (1966). On the higher taxa of Embryobionta. Taxon, 15(4), 129–134.
Dallimore, W., Jackson, A. B., & Harrison, S. G. (1967). A handbook of Coniferae and Ginkgoaceae (4th ed.). New York: St. Martin’s Press.
Daubenmire, R. (1968). Plant communities: A textbook of plant synecology. New York: Harper and Row, Publishers.
Debazac, E. F. (1964). Manuel des Coniferes. Nancy: Ecole Nationale des Eaus et Forets.
Di-Giovanni, F., & Kevan, P. (1991). Factors affecting pollen dynamics and its importance to pollen contamination: A review. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 21, 1155–1170.
Earle, C. J. (Ed.). (1997–2017). Gymnosperm database. http://www.conifers.org/index.php. Accessed 21 Oct 2017.
Earle, C. J. (2011). Conifer longevity. In C. J. Earle (Ed.) (1997–2017) Gymnosperm database. http://www.conifers.org/topics/longevity.htm. Accessed 21 Oct 2017.
Eckenwalder, J. E. (2009). Conifers of the world. Portland: Timber Press.
Erickson, V. J., & Adams, W. T. (1989). Mating success in a coastal Douglas-fir seed orchard as affected by distance and floral phenology. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 19, 1248–1255.
Farjon, A. (2001). World checklist and bibliography of conifers (2nd ed.). Kew: Royal Botanic Gardens.
Farjon, A. (2005). A monograph of Cupressaceae and Sciadopitys. Kew: Royal Botanic Gardens.
Farjon, A. (2008). A natural history of conifers. Portland: Timber Press.
Farjon, A. (2010). A handbook of the world’s conifers. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill Academic Publishers.
Farjon, A., & Filer, D. (2013). An atlas of the world’s conifers: An analysis of their distribution, biogeography, diversity and conservation status. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill Academic Publishers.
Farjon, A., Hiep, N. T., Harder, D. K., Loc, P. K., & Averyanov, L. (2002). A new genus and species in Cupressaceae (Coniferales) from northern Vietnam, Xanthocyparis vietnamensis. Novon, 12(2), 179–189.
Fowler, D. P., & Park, Y. S. (1983). Population studies of white spruce. I. Effects of self-pollination. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 13, 1133–1138.
Gernandt, D. S., Willyard, A., Syring, J. V., & Liston, A. (2011). The conifers (Pinophyta). In C. Plomion, J. Bousquet, & C. Kole (Eds.), Genetics, genomics and breeding of conifers (pp. 1–39). Enfield: Science Publishers.
Griffin, J. R., & Critchfield, W. B. (1976). The distribution of forest trees in California. USDA Forest Service Res Paper PSW-82.
He, C. Y., Zhang, J. G., & Duan, A. G. (2012b). Physiological and protein responses to drought in four pine seedlings. Silvae Genetica, 61(3), 93–103.
Howe, G. T., Aitken, S. N., Neale, D. B., Jermstad, K. D., Wheeler, N. C., & Chen, T. H. H. (2003). From genotype to phenotype: Unraveling the complexities of cold adaptation in forest trees. Canadian Journal of Botany, 81, 1247–1266.
IUCN. (2017). The IUCN red list of threatened species. http://www.iucnredlist.org/search
Jones, W. G., Hill, K. D., & Allen, J. M. (1995). Wollemia nobilis, a new living Australian genus and species in the Araucariaceae. Telopea, 6, 173–176.
Kauffmann, M. E. (2012). Conifer country. Kneeland: Backcountry Press.
Keeley, J. E. (2012). Ecology and evolution of pine life histories. Annals of Forest Science, 69(4), 445–453.
Keeley, J. E., & Zedler, P. H. (1998). Evolution of life histories in Pinus. In D. M. Richardson (Ed.), Ecology and biogeography of Pinus (pp. 219–249). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Keeley, J. E., Pausas, J. G., Rundel, P. W., Bond, W. J., & Bradstock, R. A. (2011). Fire as an evolutionary pressure shaping plant traits. Trends in Plant Science, 16, 406–411.
Koski, V. (1970). A study of pollen dispersal as a mechanism of gene flow in conifers. Communicationes Instituti Forestalis Fenniae, 70(4), 1–78.
Lamant, T. (2012). Vegetative reproduction in gymnosperms. Bulletin de l’Association des Parcs Botaniques de France, n 53.
Lamont, B., Lemaitre, D., Cowling, R., & Enright, N. (1991). Canopy seed storage in woody-plants. The Botanical Review, 57(4), 277–317.
Lanner, R. M. (1966). Needed: A new approach to the study of pollen dispersion. Silvae Genetica, 15, 50–52.
Leslie, A. B., Beaulieu, U. J. M., Rai, H. S., Crane, P. R., Donoghue, M. J., & Mathews, S. (2012). Hemisphere-scale differences in conifer evolutionary dynamics. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 109(40), 16217–16221.
Li, M., & Ritchie, G. A. (1999a). Eight hundred years of clonal forestry in China: I. traditional afforestation with Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook.). New Forests, 18, 131–142.
Li, M., & Ritchie, G. A. (1999b). Eight hundred years of clonal forestry in China: II. Mass production of rooted cuttings of Chinese fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook.). New Forests, 18, 143–159.
MacArthur, R. H., & Wilson, E. O. (1967). The theory of island biogeography (Vol. 1). Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Malloch, D. W., Pirozynski, K. A., & Raven, P. H. (1980). Ecological and evolutionary significance of mycorrhizal symbioses in vascular plants (a review). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 77(4), 2113–2118.
Mao, K., Milne, R. I., Zhang, L., Peng, Y., Liu, J., Thomas, P., Mill, R. R., & Renner, S. S. (2012). Distribution of living Cupressaceae reflects the breakup of Pangea. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 109(20), 7793–7798.
Mirov, N. T. (1967). The genus Pinus. New York: The Ronald Press Co.
Molina, R., & Trappe, J. M. (1984). Mycorrhiza management in bareroot nurseries. In M. L. Duryea & T. D. Landis (Eds.), Forestry nursery manual: Production of bareroot seedlings (pp. 211–223). The Netherlands: Springer.
Moss, S. J., & Wilson, M. E. J. (1998). Biogeographic implications from the Tertiary palaeogeographic evolution of Sulawesi and Borneo. In R. Hall & J. D. Holloway (Eds.), Biogeography and geological evolution of SE Asia (pp. 133–163). Leiden: Backhuys.
Muir, P. S., & Lotan, J. E. (1985). Disturbance history and serotiny in Pinus contorta in Western Montana. Ecology, 66, 1658–1668.
Nakamura, R. R., & Wheeler, N. C. (1992a). Pollen competition and paternal success in Douglas-fir. Evolution, 46(3), 846–851.
Nakamura, R. R., & Wheeler, N. C. (1992b). Self-fertility variation and paternal success through outcrossing in Douglas-fir. Theoretical and Applied Genetics, 83, 851–854.
Neale, D. B., Wegrzyn, J. L., Stevens, K. A., Zimin, A. V., Puiu, D., Crepeau, M. W., et al. (2014). Decoding the massive genome of loblolly pine using haploid DNA and novel assembly strategies. Genome Biology, 15(3), R59. http://genomebiology.com/2014/15/3/R59.
Owens, J. N. & Blake, M. D. (1985). Forest tree seed production. A review of the literature and recommendations for future research. Information Report – Petawawa National Forestry Institute, Canadian Forestry Service No. PI-X-53 pp.vi + 161 pp.
Pausas, J. G., & Keeley, J. E. (2009). A burning story, the role of fire in the history of life. Bioscience, 59, 593–601.
Peattie, D. C. (1953). A natural history of western trees. Bonanza Books/Crown Publ, New York.
Pharis, R. P., & Morf, W. (1967). Experiments on the precocious flowering of western red cedar and four species of Cupressus with gibberellins A3 and A4/A7 mixture. Canadian Journal of Botany, 45(9), 1519–1524.
Piesch, R. F., & Stettler, R. F. (1971). The detection of good selfers for haploid induction in Douglas-fir. Silvae Genetica, 20(4), 144–148.
Pojar, J., & MacKinnon, A. (Eds.). (2004). The plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast (Revised). Vancouver: Lone Pine Publishing.
Raubeson, L. A., & Jansen, R. K. (1992). A rare chloroplast-DNA structural mutation is shared by all conifers. Biochemical Systematics and Ecology, 20, 17–24.
Richardson, D. M., & Rundel, P. W. (1998). Ecology and biogeography of Pinus: An introduction. In D. M. Richardson (Ed.), Ecology and biogeography of Pinus. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Ritchie, G. A. (1991). The commercial use of conifer rooted cuttings in forestry: A world overview. New Forests, 5, 247–275.
Rothwell, G. W., & Scheckler, S. E. (1988). Biology of ancestral gymnosperms. In C. B. Beck (Ed.), Origin and evolution of gymnosperms. New York: Columbia University Press.
Sawyer, J. O. (2006). Northwest California. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Smith, W. K., & Brewer, C. A. (1994). The adaptive importance of shoot and crown architecture in conifer trees. The American Naturalist, 143(3), 528–532.
Sorensen, F. (1969). Embryonic genetic load in coastal Douglas-fir, Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii. The American Naturalist, 103, 389–398.
Sorensen, F., & Miles, R. S. (1974). Self-pollination effects on Douglas-fir and ponderosa pine seeds and seedlings. Silvae Genetica, 23, 135–138.
Stevenson, D. (1991). Flora of the Guianas, Series A: Phanerogams, Fascicle 9, Sections 208 Cycadaceae, 208.1 Zamiaceae, and 211 Podocarpaceae. Koeltz Scientific Books, USA/Germany.
Stewart, G. H. (2002). Structure and canopy tree species regeneration requirements in indigenous forests, Westland, New Zealand (Doc Science Internal Series 66). Wellington: Department of Conservation.
Strauss, S. H., & Doerksen, A. H. (1990). Restriction fragment analysis of pine phylogeny. Evolution, 44, 1081–1096.
Strauss, S. H., Palmer, J. D., Howe, G. T., & Doerksen, A. H. (1988). Chloroplast genomes of two conifers lack a large inverted repeat and are extensively rearranged. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 85(11), 3898–3902.
Takhtajan, A. (1986). (T. J. Crovello, Trans.). In A. Cronquist (Ed.). Floristic regions of the world. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Toda, R. (1974). Vegetative propagation in relation to Japanese forest tree improvement. New Zealand J For Sci, 4, 410–417.
Van Pelt, R. (2001). Forest giants of North America. Seattle: University of Washington Press.
Vander Wall, S. B., & Balda, R. P. (1977). Coadaptation of the Clark’s Nutcracker and the pinon pine for efficient seed harvest and dispersal. Ecological Monographs, 47, 89–111.
Verkaik, E., Gardner, R. O., & Braakhekke, W. G. (2007). Site conditions affect seedling distribution below and outside the crown of kauri trees (Agathis australis). New Zealand J Ecol, 31(1), 13–21.
Wallace, A. R. (1876). The geographical distribution of animals. London: Harper and Brothers.
Wheeler, N. C., & Bramlett, D. (1990). Operational flower stimulation treatments in a young loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) seed orchard. Southern Journal of Applied Forestry, 15(1), 44–50.
Wheeler, N. C., & Jech, K. S. (1992). The use of electrophoretic markers in seed orchard research. New Forests, 6, 311–328.
Wheeler, N. C., Wample, R. L., & Pharis, R. P. (1980). Promotion of flowering in the Pineaceae by gibberellins. IV. Seedlings and sexually mature grafts of lodgepole pine. Physiologia Plantarum, 50, 340–346.
Wheeler, N. C., Masters, C. J., Cade, S. C., Ross, S. D., Keeley, J. W., & Hsin, L. Y. (1985). Girdling: An effective and practical treatment for enhancing seed yields in Douglas-fir seed orchards. Canadian Journal of Forest Research, 15(3), 505–510.
White, T. L., Adams, W. T., & Neale, D. B. (2007a). Forest genetics. Cambridge, MA: CABI Publishing.
Wikipedia contributors (2017) Árbol del Tule. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 19 May 2017. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%81rbol_del_Tule. Accessed 21 Oct 2017.
Wilcox, M. D. (1983). Inbreeding depression and genetic variances estimated from self- and cross-pollinated families of Pinus radiata. Silvae Genetica, 32, 89–96.
Williams, C. G. (2009). Conifer reproductive biology. Dordrecht/Heidelberg/London/New York: Springer.
Yang, Y., Zhang, D., Luscombe, D., Liao, W., Farjon, A., Katsuki, T., Xiang, Q., & Li, N. (2013). Abies beshanzuensis. The IUCN red list of threatened species 2013: e.T32318A2814360. https://doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T32318A2814360.en. Accessed 19 Oct 2017.
Zhao, G., Sun, M., Wilde, S. A., & Li, S. Z. (2004). A Paleo-Mesoproterozoic supercontinent: Assembly, growth and breakup. Earth-Science Reviews, 67, 91–123.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Neale, D.B., Wheeler, N.C. (2019). The Conifers. In: The Conifers: Genomes, Variation and Evolution. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-46807-5_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-46807-5_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-46806-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-46807-5
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)