List of coniferous plants of Montana explained

There are at least 20 species of Gymnosperms or Coniferous plants in Montana.^[1]

The conifers, division Pinophyta, also known as division Coniferophyta or Coniferae, are one of 13 or 14 division level taxa within the Kingdom Plantae. Pinophytes are gymnosperms. They are cone-bearing seed plants with vascular tissue; all extant conifers are woody plants, the great majority being trees with just a few being shrubs. Typical examples of conifers include cedars, Douglas firs, cypresses, firs, junipers, kauris, larches, pines, hemlocks, redwoods, spruces, and yews.^[2] The division contains approximately eight families, 68 genera, and 630 living species.^{[3] [4]}

The Ponderosa pine, a conifer, is the Montana State Tree.^[5]

Cedars and junipers

Order: Pinales, Family: Cupressaceae

• Common juniper, Juniperus communis^[6]
• Creeping juniper, Juniperus horizontalis^[7]
• Rocky mountain juniper, Juniperus scopulorum^[8]
• Utah juniper, Juniperus osteosperma^[9]
• Western redcedar, Thuja plicata^[10]

Fir, hemlock, larch, pine, and spruce

Order: Pinales, Family: Pinaceae

• Alpine larch, Larix lyallii^[11]
• Douglas fir, Pseudotsuga menziesii^[12]
• Engelmann spruce, Picea engelmannii^[13]
• Grand fir, Abies grandis^[14]
• Limber pine, Pinus flexilis^[15]
• Lodgepole pine, Pinus contorta^[16]
• Mountain hemlock, Tsuga mertensiana^[17]
• Ponderosa pine, Pinus ponderosa^[18]
• Subalpine fir, Abies lasiocarpa^[19]
• Western hemlock, Tsuga heterophylla^[20]
• Western larch, Larix occidentalis^[21]
• Western white pine, Pinus monticola^[22]
• White spruce, Picea glauca^[23]
• Whitebark pine, Pinus albicaulis^[24]

Yew

Order: Pinales, Family: Taxaceae

• Pacific yew, Taxus brevifolia^[25]

Further reading

• Book: Rydberg, Per Axel PhD . Catalogue of the flora of Montana and the Yellowstone National Park . New York Botanical Garden . New York . 1900 .
• Book: Booth, W.E. . Flora of Montana, Part I Conifers and Monocots . The Research Foundation at Montana State College . Bozeman, Montana . 1950.
• Book: Kavanaugh, James . Montana Trees & Wildflowers: An Introduction to Familiar Species . Waterford Press . 2005 . 1-58355-293-6.
• Book: Little, E.L. Jr. . 1979 . Checklist of United States trees (native and naturalized). Agriculture Handbook No. 541. . U.S. Forest Service . Washington, D.C.
• Book: Petrides, George A. . A Field Guide to Western Trees. Western United States and Canada. Roger Tory Peterson Field Guides 50th Anniversary Edition . Easton Press . Norwalk, CT . 1992.

See also

• Ecology of the Rocky Mountains
• Lichens of Montana
• Monocotyledons of Montana

Notes and References

1. Web site: Montana Field Guide-Conifers . Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks . 2010-12-06.
2. Campbell, Reece, "Phylum Coniferophyta."Biology. 7th. 2005. Print. P.595
3. http://www.catalogueoflife.org/show_database_details.php?database_name=Conifer+Database Catalogue of Life: 2007 Annual checklist - Conifer database
4. Lott . J. . Liu . J. . Pennell . K. . Lesage . A. . West . M. . 2002 . Iron-rich particles and globoids in embryos of seeds from phyla Coniferophyta, Cycadophyta, Gnetophyta, and Ginkgophyta: characteristics of early seed plants . Canadian Journal of Botany . 80 . 9. 954–961 . 10.1139/b02-083.
5. Web site: Montana State Symbols . 2010-12-06.
6. Web site: Montana Field Guide-Common Juniper . Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks . 2010-12-06.
7. Web site: Montana Field Guide-Creeping Juniper . Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks . 2010-12-06.
8. Web site: Montana Field Guide-Rocky Mountain Juniper . Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks . 2010-12-06.
9. Web site: Montana Field Guide-Utah Juniper . Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks . 2010-12-06.
10. Web site: Montana Field Guide-Western Redcedar . Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks . 2010-12-06.
11. Web site: Montana Field Guide-Alpine Larch . Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks . 2010-12-06.
12. Web site: Montana Field Guide-Douglas Fir . Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks . 2010-12-06.
13. Web site: Montana Field Guide-Engelmann Spruce . Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks . 2010-12-06.
14. Web site: Montana Field Guide-Grand Fir . Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks . 2010-12-06.
15. Web site: Montana Field Guide-Limber Pine . Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks . 2010-12-06.
16. Web site: Montana Field Guide-Lodgepole Pine . Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks . 2010-12-06.
17. Web site: Montana Field Guide-Mountain Hemlock . Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks . 2010-12-06.
18. Web site: Montana Field Guide-Ponderosa Pine . Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks . 2010-12-06.
19. Web site: Montana Field Guide-Subalpine Fir . Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks . 2010-12-06.
20. Web site: Montana Field Guide-Western Hemlock . Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks . 2010-12-06.
21. Web site: Montana Field Guide-Western Larch . Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks . 2010-12-06.
22. Web site: Montana Field Guide-Western White Pine . Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks . 2010-12-06.
23. Web site: Montana Field Guide-White Spruce . Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks . 2010-12-06.
24. Web site: Montana Field Guide-Whitebark Pine . Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks . 2010-12-06.
25. Web site: Montana Field Guide-Pacific Yew . Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks . 2010-12-06.