The order Pinales in the division Pinophyta, class Pinopsida, comprises all the extant conifers. The distinguishing characteristic is the reproductive structure known as a cone produced by all Pinales. All of the extant conifers, such as Araucaria, cedar, celery-pine, cypress, fir, juniper, kauri, larch, pine, redwood, spruce, and yew, are included here. Some fossil conifers, however, belong to other distinct orders within the division Pinophyta.
Cycads are seed plants that typically have a stout and woody (ligneous) trunk with a crown of large, hard, stiff, evergreen and (usually) pinnate leaves. The species are dioecious, that is, individual plants of a species are either male or female. Cycads vary in size from having trunks only a few centimeters to several meters tall. They typically grow very slowly and live very long. Because of their superficial resemblance, they are sometimes mistaken for palms or ferns, but they are not closely related to either group.
The gymnosperms are a group of seed-producing plants that includes conifers, cycads, Ginkgo, and gnetophytes, forming the clade Gymnospermae. The term gymnosperm comes from the composite word in Greek: γυμνόσπερμος, literally meaning 'naked seeds'. The name is based on the unenclosed condition of their seeds. 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, Ginkgo. Gymnosperm lifecycles involve alternation of generations. They have 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 all non-angiosperm seed plants. In that case, to specify the modern monophyletic group of gymnosperms, the term Acrogymnospermae is sometimes used.
Nothofagus, also known as the southern beeches, is a genus of 43 species of trees and shrubs native to the Southern Hemisphere in southern South America and east and southeast Australia, New Zealand, New Guinea, and New Caledonia. The species are ecological dominants in many temperate forests in these regions. Some species are reportedly naturalised in Germany and Great Britain. The genus has a rich fossil record of leaves, cupules, and pollen, with fossils extending into the late Cretaceous period and occurring in Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica, and South America.
Eucryphia is a small genus of trees and large shrubs native to the south temperate regions of South America and coastal eastern Australia, mainly Tasmania. Sometimes placed in a family of their own, the Eucryphiaceae, more recent classifications place them in the Cunoniaceae. There are seven species, two in South America and five in Australia, and several named hybrids.
Cycas is a genus of cycad, and the only genus in the family Cycadaceae. About 113 species are accepted, which are native to the Indo-Pacific, East Africa and Madagascar. Cycas circinalis, a species endemic to India, was the first cycad species to be described in western literature, and is the type species of the genus. The best-known Cycas species is Cycas revoluta.
The Zamiaceae are a family of cycads that are superficially palm or fern-like. They are divided into two subfamilies with eight genera and about 150 species in the tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, Australia and North and South America.
Zamia is a genus of cycad of the family Zamiaceae, native to North America from the United States throughout the West Indies, Central America, and South America as far south as Bolivia. The genus is considered to be the most ecologically and morphologically diverse of the cycads, and is estimated to have originated about 68.3 million years ago.
Nothofagus cunninghamii, commonly known as myrtle beech or Tasmanian myrtle, is the dominant species of cool temperate rainforests in Tasmania and Southern Victoria. It has low fire resistance and grows best in partial shade conditions.
Phyllocladus aspleniifolius, commonly known as the celerytop pine, is an endemic gymnosperm of Tasmania, Australia. It is widespread and common in Tasmania, with the most abundance in the western highlands. Its ‘leaves’ appear similar to those of a celery plant, hence the common name.
Dioon is a genus of cycads in the family Zamiaceae. It is native to Mexico and Central America. Their habitats include tropical forests, pine-oak forest, and dry hillsides, canyons and coastal dunes.
Ceratozamia is a genus of New World cycads in the family Zamiaceae. The genus contains 27 known currently living species and one or two fossil species. Most species are endemic to mountainous areas of Mexico, while few species extend into the mountains of Guatemala, Honduras and Belize. The genus name comes from the Greek ceras, meaning horn, which refers to the paired, spreading horny projections on the male and female sporophylls of all species.
Normanbya is a monotypic genus of palms containing the single species Normanbya normanbyi, which is known by the common name black palm It is endemic to Queensland, Australia and is threatened by habitat destruction.
Bowenia serrulata, the Byfield fern, is a cycad in the family Stangeriaceae. Its bipinnate fronds, arising from a subterranean caudex, give it the appearance of a fern. However it is not a fern as its vernacular name and appearance suggest. It is endemic to the vicinity of Byfield, Australia.
Bowenia spectabilis is a species of cycad in the family Stangeriaceae. It is endemic to Queensland, Australia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests.
Lepidozamia peroffskyana is a palm-like cycad in the family Zamiaceae. It is endemic to eastern Australia. The species is named after Count Peroffsky (1794-1857), benefactor of the St. Petersburg Botanical Garden.
Macrozamia concinna is a part of the plant family, Zamiaceae. It originates from a division of Cycadophyta which encompasses the complete species of cycads. M. concinna is primarily habituated in New South Wales, Australia and maintains a distinct appearance allowing it to be easily identifiable from other cycads. M. concinna also implements a unique method of reproduction to fertilise its offsprings, as opposed to the common method of wind pollination. This difference in reproduction mechanisms has survived throughout the ages of prehistoric cycad species and M. concinna continues to procreate with it.
Zamia pseudoparasitica is a species of plant in the family Zamiaceae. It is endemic to Panama.
Telopea truncata, commonly known as the Tasmanian waratah, is a plant in the family Proteaceae. It is endemic to Tasmania where it is found on moist acidic soils at altitudes of 600 to 1200 m (2000–4000 ft). Telopea truncata is a component of alpine eucalypt forest, rainforest and scrub communities. It grows as a multistemmed shrub to a height of 3 metres (10 ft), or occasionally as a small tree to 10 m (35 ft) high, with red flower heads, known as inflorescences, appearing over the Tasmanian summer and bearing 10 to 35 individual flowers. Yellow-flowered forms are occasionally seen, but do not form a population distinct from the rest of the species.
