any of an order of trees and or shrubs, e.g. the pine, cypress, and yew, that bear ovules naked on the surface of scales, e.g. in cones, rather than enclosed in an ovary: order Coniferales
coniferous /kəʹnif(ə)rəs/ adj
[Latin conifer cone-bearing, from conus cone (from Greek kōnos) + -fer]