Professor Ralph E. Taggart Department of Plant Biology and Department of Geological Sciences Michigan State University Conifers such as this pine, are easily recognized.
Familiar conifers have needle-like leaves and woody cones.
Smaller, ephemeral cones that bear pollen are produced in the spring. Other conifers, such as the Araucaria , are less familiar. These plants have a southern hemisphere distribution and the only ones you are likely to see are the Norfolk Island Pine, which is widely grown as an indoor pot plant, and the Monkey Puzzle Tree, which is grown in southern California. To find the evolutionary source of conifers, we must examine some common Carboniferous plants which don't seem to have any of the common conifer characteristics. The Cordaitales A very common kind of fossil in Carboniferous deposits is a long, strap-like leaf with parallel veins.