Real Dictionary

conifer
countable noun: Conifers are a group of trees and shrubs, for example pine trees and fir trees, that grow in cooler areas of the world. They have fruit called cones, and very thin leaves called needles which they do not normally lose in winter.

conifer in American English
any of a class (Pinatae) of cone-bearing, gymnospermous trees and shrubs, mostly evergreens, including the pine, spruce, fir, cedar, yew, and cypress
noun: any of numerous, chiefly evergreen trees or shrubs of the class Coniferinae (or group Coniferales), including the pine, fir, spruce, and other cone-bearing trees and shrubs, and also the yews and their allies that bear drupelike seeds

conifer in British English
noun: any gymnosperm tree or shrub of the phylum Coniferophyta, typically bearing cones and evergreen leaves. The group includes the pines, spruces, firs, larches, yews, junipers, cedars, cypresses, and sequoias