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The conifers: Cone-bearing trees
The name "conifer" comes from Latin and means "to bear cones." Although cones are a common feature of most conifers, junipers and yews are two exceptions that produce berry-like fruit.

The best method of identifying a conifer is to look at the leaves. Conifers are usually evergreen trees or shrubs with linear, needle-like or scale-like leaves, though some such as larch and cypress drop their leaves in autumn.

Among the conifers are some of the smallest, largest and oldest living woody plants known. The more than 500 conifer species are distributed worldwide.

Redwood: The Giant Sequoia Sequoiadendron giganteum is the largest living thing on the earth, and is one of the main reasons why Yosemite National Park was preserved. Giant Sequoias only exist in the Sierra Nevada Range and can live to be 3,000 years old, measure up to 35 feet in diameter, and tower to heights of 250 to 300 feet above the ground. The 12-18 inch thick bark protects the sequoia from wildfires and the tannin-rich sap also enhances the tree's heat tolerance as well as protects it against insect predation.

The Giant Sequoias sprouts from seeds the size of a flake of oatmeal. Each egg-sized sequoia cone holds 200-300 of these seeds. Sequoias retain the green, seedbearing cones alive on the tree for upwards of 20-30 years. Outside forces such as fire, insect larvae, and the Douglas squirel or chickaree help disperse the seed. Seeds send down a small one inch taproot which must reach mineral soil in order to sprout. From small beginings comes the world's largest living thing.

The pines: there are many pines found in Yosemite including Jeffery pine, Lodgepole pine, sugar pine, and ponderosa pine.

Pacific ponderosa pine Pinus ponderosa

The ponderosa pine is charachterised by 3 needles per bunch, prickly cones and bark that breaks easily into flakes that look like puzzle pieces.

The Firs: There are also different kinds of firs found in Yosemite: Douglas fir, Red fir and White fir.

White Fir Abies concolor
has needles aranged on a plane

Douglas-Fir Psudotsuga mensiesii
Douglas fir needles are whorled around their branches
and the cone has "mouse tails" sticking out of the ends

Incense cedar Calocedrus decurrens
As the name suggests, incense cedar wood is pleasantly aromatic. One of the common uses for incense cedar wood is for pencils.

Broad-leaved trees

California black oak Quercus kelloggii
Miwok Indians used to grind the acorns of the black oak to make an acorn flour. The acorns provided a large percentage of the protein in their diet.

Canyon live oak
Quercus chrysolepis
this is the only oak that has leaves that do not shed in the winter

California Laurel Umbellularia californica
The laurel tree is in the bay family, and can be used in flavoring soups and other foods. The laurel leaves are very aromatic when crushed.

Manzanita: Arctostaphylos

Manzanita is the hardest wood in the SIerra Nevadas and burns very hot. The Miwok prefered using manzanita wood to heat the rocks which cooked their acorn mush and would also use the leaves to quench their thirst, as they stimulate salivation.

ferns