Conifres and Their Tropical Relatives Cycads and gingkos are among the oldest of all kinds of plants. They first appeared over 300 million years ago long before the age of dinosaurs. Conifres Cycads and gingkos are all called gymnosperms and make their seeds in cones. Conifres are tall mostly evergreen trees that generally grow in cool and mountainous regions. A few cypresses are the only tropical conifres. Cycads however are tropical trees that look like stubby palm trees. Gingkos or maidenhair trees are tall trees with fan-shaped leaves that grow only in eastern China.
Facts: About coniferous forests
•Cold resistance
Conifres are able to survive in cold areas with little water because instead of leaves they have thin waxy needles that shed snow easily and lose very little water. (Water cannot be used by trees when it is frozen). Their tall, narrow shape helps shed snow too.
•Evergreen
Nearly all conifres are evergreen which means that their leaves stay on all year round. Larches are an exception thier needless fall off in autumn.
•Plantations
In various cold regions of the world conifres are grow in narrowly-planted rows on massive plantations to provide timber. They are fast growing and can also survive on soil which is too poor for others crops.
•Life in a coniferous forest
Coniferous forest are usually quite dense and dark and so there is much less other plant life beneath the trees than there is in a deciduous Forrest (see page 76) - usually just fungi frens and litchen.
•Pine Family
Pines make up the largest family of conifres. This includes almost 100 different species such as the Scots pine, Corsican pine and the Loblolly pine.
Data: Big, old trees
The Tallest Tree
The tallest tree in the world is a coastal redwood in Redwood National Park, California USA -lll25m.The Oldest Living Tree
Is a 4,700 year old bristlecone pine in California's White Mts.
3.The biggest Forest
Is in Siberia -over 17million square kilometers
Facts:Seed and comes
•Cone-bearers
Instead of flowers conifres and cycads have male and female cones which produce and carry seeds.
•Male cones
The smaller male cones grow in clusters and produce pollen grains which travel on the wind to fertilize the female cones.
•Femla cones
Once fertilize female cones may take as long as three years to develop their seeds.
•Female scale
Each scale of the female cone has one or more seeds attached to it. As they develop they are protected within the hard cone. When they are ready the scales open up and either release the seeds or fall away from the cone taking the seeds with them.
Cones are very sensitive to changes in the dampness of the air In dry weather the scale shrivel and stand out stiffly. When it is damper they absorb the moisture and close up neatly again.
REFERENCESS:
img source: https://www.google.com.ph/amp/s/www.rd.com/health/wellness/health-benefits-of-gardening/amp/?source=images
Sources and references are from my own i didn't or even trh to copy someone elses work
