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

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (February 2011)

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

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

See also

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

Notes