What does coniferous mean?
Word: Coniferous
Part of Speech: Adjective
Meaning: Coniferous means bearing cones: used of trees such as pine, fir and deodar, which carry their seeds in cones and usually have thin, needle-shaped leaves. A coniferous forest is one made up mostly of these trees.
How do you spell coniferous?
Syllables: co - nif - er - ous
Tricky part: The ending is the trap: after the f comes -erous, so coniferus (no e), conifirous and coniferious all lose the mark.
Watch out for: coniferus, coniferious, conifirous
Memory tip: The -ferous part means 'carrying', from the Latin ferre. Picture a pine tree carrying its cones on every branch.
Coniferous in a sentence
Example 1: The mountain road winds through thick coniferous forests of fir and pine.
Example 2: Snow slides off coniferous trees easily because their narrow needles do not hold much of it.
Example 3: For our geography project, Arnav coloured the coniferous belt across northern Russia and Canada in dark green.
Fun Fact
Not every coniferous tree is evergreen: the larch carries cones but drops all its needles every autumn.
Practise the CREST Way
Spellacadabra
Which word is spelt incorrectly?
a) conniferous
b) numerous
c) prosperous
d) carnivorous
Show answer
a) conniferous. Coniferous has a single n after the co; the other three are spelt correctly.
Spell Spies
Choose the misspelt word/s in the given sentence:
Grandpa planted two coneferous saplings near the gate, and by spring they were already a metre tall.
a) coneferous and saplings
b) only saplings
c) gate and metre
d) only coneferous
Show answer
d) only coneferous. The letter after the n is i, not e; saplings and metre are both correct.
Jumble Tumble
What is the meaning of the word that can be formed from the given letters?
rifcoousne
a) growing on another plant and taking food from it
b) describing trees that produce cones holding their seeds
c) able to grow well in very dry and sandy soil
d) describing trees that lose all their leaves every autumn
Show answer
b) describing trees that produce cones holding their seeds. Unscrambled, the ten letters give the word for pines, firs and other cone-bearing trees.
Word Tally
Give 2 marks for each correctly spelt word. How many marks do these words earn? coniferous, mountainous, poisonus, nervous, jealous
a) 10
b) 4
c) 6
d) 8
Show answer
d) 8. Four words are right; poisonous needs an o before the u, so 4 x 2 = 8.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which of these trees is coniferous?
a) neem
b) banyan
c) mango
d) spruce
Show answer
d) spruce
2. Where are you most likely to walk through a coniferous forest?
a) in a salty mangrove swamp
b) in a hot, dry sand desert
c) on cold, high mountain slopes
d) on a flat, treeless grassland
Show answer
c) on cold, high mountain slopes
