Conifer cone in the context of "Pinales"

Taxodium /tækˈsoʊdiəm/ is a genus of one to three species (depending on taxonomic opinion) of extremely flood-tolerant conifers in the cypress family, Cupressaceae. The name is derived from the Latin word taxus, meaning "yew", and the Greek word εἶδος (eidos), meaning "similar to." Within the family, Taxodium is most closely related to Chinese swamp cypress (Glyptostrobus pensilis) and sugi (Cryptomeria japonica).

Species of Taxodium occur in the southern part of the North American continent and are deciduous in the north and semi-evergreen to evergreen in the south. They are large trees, reaching 100–150 ft (30–46 m) tall and 6.5–10 ft (2–3 m) (exceptionally 36 ft or 11 m) trunk diameter. The needle-like leaves, 0.2–0.8 in (0.5–2 cm) long, are borne spirally on the shoots, twisted at the base so as to appear in two flat rows on either side of the shoot. The cones are globose, 0.8–1.4 in (2–3.5 cm) diameter, with 10–25 scales, each scale with one or two seeds; they are mature in 7–9 months after pollination, when they disintegrate to release the seeds. The male (pollen) cones are produced in pendulous racemes, and shed their pollen in early spring. Taxodium species grow cypress knees, when growing in or beside water. The function of these knees is currently a subject of ongoing research.

In Ancient Greece a thyrsus (/ˈθɜːrsəs/) or thyrsos (/ˈθɜːrsɒs/; Ancient Greek: θύρσος) was a wand or staff of giant fennel (Ferula communis) covered with ivy vines and leaves, sometimes wound with taeniae and topped with a pine cone, artichoke, fennel, or by a bunch of vine-leaves and grapes or ivy-leaves and berries, carried during Hellenic festivals and religious ceremonies. The thyrsus is typically associated with the Greek god Dionysus (and his subsequent Roman equivalent Bacchus) as a symbol of prosperity, fertility, and hedonism.

Conifers (/ˈkɒnɪfər/) are a group of seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. They are mainly evergreen trees with a regular branching pattern, reproducing with male and female cones, usually on the same tree. They are wind-pollinated and the seeds are usually dispersed by the wind. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta, also known as Coniferae. All extant conifers except for the Gnetophytes are perennial woody plants with secondary growth. There are over 600 living species.

Conifers first appear in the fossil record over 300 million years ago in the Carboniferous. They became dominant land plants in the Mesozoic, until flowering plants took over many ecosystems in the Cretaceous. Many conifers today are relict species, surviving in a small part of their former ranges. Such relicts include Wollemia, known only from a small area of Australia, and Metasequoia glyptostroboides, known from Cretaceous fossils and surviving in a small area of China.

The gymnosperms (/ˈdʒɪmnəˌspɜːrmz, -noʊ-/ nə-spurmz, -⁠noh-; from Ancient Greek γυμνός (gumnós), meaning "naked", and σπέρμα (spérma), meaning "seed", and thus, "naked seed") are a group of woody, perennial seed-producing plants, typically lacking the protective outer covering which surrounds the seeds in flowering plants, that include conifers, cycads, Ginkgo, and gnetophytes, forming the clade Gymnospermae. The name is based on the unenclosed condition of their seeds (called ovules in their unfertilized state). The non-encased condition of their seeds contrasts with the seeds and ovules of flowering plants (angiosperms), which are enclosed within an ovary. Gymnosperm seeds develop either on the surface of scales or leaves, which are often modified to form cones, or on their own as in yew, Torreya, and Ginkgo.

The life cycle of a gymnosperm involves alternation of generations, with a dominant diploid sporophyte phase, and a reduced haploid gametophyte phase, which is dependent on the sporophytic phase. The term "gymnosperm" is often used in paleobotany to refer to (the paraphyletic group of) all non-angiosperm seed plants. In that case, to specify the modern monophyletic group of gymnosperms, the term Acrogymnospermae is sometimes used.

Firs are evergreen coniferous trees belonging to the genus Abies (Latin: [ˈabieːs]) in the family Pinaceae. There are approximately 48–65 extant species, found on mountains throughout much of North and Central America, Eurasia, and North Africa. The genus is most closely related to Keteleeria, a small genus confined to eastern Asia.

They are tall trees that can be distinguished from other members of the pine family by the way in which their needle-like leaves are attached singly to the branches with a circular base, and by their cones, which, like those of cedars, stand upright on the branches like candles and disintegrate at maturity.

Pollen is a powdery substance produced by most types of flowers of seed plants for the purpose of sexual reproduction. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells).

Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametophytes during the process of their movement from the stamens to the pistil of flowering plants, or from the male cone to the female cone of gymnosperms. If pollen lands on a compatible pistil or female cone, it germinates, producing a pollen tube that transfers the sperm to the ovule containing the female gametophyte. Individual pollen grains are small enough to require magnification to see detail. The study of pollen is called palynology and is highly useful in paleoecology, paleontology, archaeology, and forensics.

Abies × borisii-regis (Bulgarian fir) is a hybrid species of fir native to the mountains of the Balkan Peninsula in Bulgaria, northern Greece, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Albania and Serbia. It occurs at altitudes of 800–1,800 m (2,600–5,900 ft), on mountains with an annual rainfall of over 1,000 mm (39 in).

It is a large evergreen coniferous tree growing to 40–50 m (130–160 ft) (exceptionally 60 m (200 ft)) tall and with a trunk diameter of up to 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in). The leaves are needle-like, flattened, 1.8–3.5 cm (0.71–1.38 in) long and 2 mm (0.079 in) wide by 0.5 mm (0.020 in) thick, glossy dark green above, and with two blue-white bands of stomata below. The tip of the leaf is variable, usually pointed, but sometimes slightly notched at the tip, particularly on slow-growing shoots on older trees. The cones are 10–21 cm (3.9–8.3 in) long and 4 cm (1.6 in) broad, with about 150–200 scales, each scale with an exserted bract and two winged seeds; they disintegrate when mature to release the seeds.

Cryptomeria (literally "hidden parts") is a monotypic genus of conifer in the cypress family Cupressaceae. It includes only one species, Cryptomeria japonica (syn. Cupressus japonica L.f.). It is considered to be endemic to Japan, where it is known as Sugi (杉). The tree is also called Japanese cedar or Japanese redwood in English. It has been extensively introduced, and cultivated for wood production on the Azores and elsewhere.