Conifers are gymnosperms, an ancient lineage of seed plants that first appeared about 300 million years ago at the end of the Carboniferous period. They have needle-like or scale-like leaves with a thick waxy cuticle designed to resist drought. Conifers do not require water for fertilization, a pollen grain produced by the male cone is usually delivered by wind to the female cone, another adaptation to a time when the continents were drier than they are today. South Florida conifers include three species of pine, two species of bald cypress, and a juniper.
Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris) is a tall tree with an open crown that ranges over the southeast coastal plain from Florida west to Texas and north to Virginia. Although the tree itself is not an endangered species, most of the old growth stands were harvested in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century and replaced with faster growing Slash and Loblolly Pine. Since the Longleaf Pine community is home to a very diverse set of plants and animals, the loss of those old growth stands has had detrimental effects on those understory inhabitants, and several are listed as endangered.
Slash Pine (Pinus elliottii) is similar to Longleaf Pine in form, but with a reduced natural range, from Florida west to Louisiana and north to South Carolina, although it has been planted in Texas and Virginia. It is a fast growing tree with valuable wood and is favored by the lumber industry; it apparently grows well even on soil degraded by mining and has been used in reforestation efforts in other countries, including Australia and South Africa.
Sand Pine (Pinus clausa) is the only pine whose natural range is mostly limited to Florida. It is a relatively short-lived tree that prefers dry, sandy soils in association with scrub oaks and other characteristic understory plants.
Bald Cypress (Taxodium distichum) is an impressively large tree that is in the same plant family (Cupressaceae) as the Redwoods and Giant Sequoias of California. There is an old growth stand of Bald Cypress in the Audubon Society’s Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, some of the trees are over 500 years old! The closely related Pond Cypress (Taxodium ascendens) is a smaller tree that is also found in wet habitats throughout Florida.
Southern Red Cedar (Juniperus silicicola) is a small evergreen tree with dense foliage and a pyramidal or spire-like shape. It grows well in a variety of habitats and tends to prefer limestone soils.
Australian Pine (Casuarina equisetifolia) is not a conifer; it is a flowering plant that is mentioned here because of its resemblance to pine trees. What look like pine needles are actually the photosynthetic twigs of the tree.
