The conifers, division Pinophyta, also known as division Coniferophyta or Coniferae, are one of 13 or 14 division level taxa within the Kingdom Plantae.
The earliest conifers in the fossil record date to the late Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian) period, (about 300 million years ago), possibly arising from Cordaites, a seed-bearing plant with cone-like fertile structures. This plant resembled the modern araucaria. [citation needed]
