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Coniferophyta
(pines, cypresses, yellowwoods, etc)
Life
> eukaryotes >
Archaeoplastida >
Chloroplastida
>
Charophyta > Streptophytina > Plantae (land plants)
> Tracheophyta (vascular plants) > Euphyllophyta > Lignophyta (woody plants) > Spermatophyta (seed plants)
> Gymnospermae
Families encountered in southern Africa
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Araucariaceae
(monkeypuzzle family) |
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Cephalotaxaceae
Closely related to the Taxaceae. Includes only the genus Cephalotaxus which is found from
India to China and Japan. |
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Cupressaceae
(cypresses) |
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Pinaceae (pines)
There are about 12 genera and 200 species, almost
exclusively indigenous to the northern hemisphere. Many species of pines
(genus Pinus) have been cultivated in southern Africa, of which eight
have become naturalised. |
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Podocarpaceae
(yellowoods) |
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Sciadopityaceae
Includes only the
species, Sciadopitys verticillata (Japanese umbrella pine),
which is found in Japan. |
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Taxaceae |
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Gnetales
[= Gnetopsida, Gnetophyta]
Includes the families Ephedraceae (with one genus:
Ephedra), Gnetaceae (with two genera: Gnetum and
Vinkiella) and Welwitschiaceae (one genus: Welwitschia), of
which only the latter occurs in southern Africa. The Gnetales used to be
regarded as the sister group of the angiosperms but through molecular studies,
the evidence now points to it lying within the Coniferophyta (Simpson, 2006).
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