Skip to main content

Story: Conifers

Fossil conifer

Image
Fossil conifer

Fossil conifers have been found at a number of sites in New Zealand. The oldest are similar but not identical to present-day conifer species. This leafy podocarp twig was collected from mudstone near Greymouth, and is 55–60 million years old. (The scale rule is in centimetres.)

Using this item

GNS Science

Reference: 113674

Permission of GNS Science must be obtained before any use of this image.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page

Maggy Wassilieff, Conifers – What are conifers?, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/12642/fossil-conifer (accessed 24 June 2026).

Story by Maggy Wassilieff, published 1 March 2009.