(professor)

Today, I'll be talking about the information in Chapter 22 from the text, the chapter on conifers. You should've read the chapter already and turned in the answers to the ten questions at the end of the chapter.
Do you know what conifers are? Well, conifers are the type of trees, such as pines, that have cones instead of colorful fowers. About a third of the world's trees are conifers, and the vast majority of conifers are found in the great conifer forests of North America and Siberia.
Conifers are hardy trees that have been able to survive well, and as a result, both the oldest and the biggest trees in the world belong to the conifer family. The oldest known living tree is a four-thousand-year-old bristlecone pine, which is located in California. The giant redwoods, which are also found in California, are the largest trees; they can be several hundred feet tall and weigh as much as 2,000 tons. An interesting note about the giant redwoods is that, even though the trees are so large, they have relatively small cones.
What is true of most, but not all, conifers is that they are evergreens with needle- like leaves. The needle-like shape of conifer leaves evolved as a reaction to drought. When compared with a flat leaf, a needle presents a much smaller surface area, which decreases the amount of water lost through the leaves. Because most conifers are evergreens, they lose and replace their needles throughout the year, rather than shedding all their leaves in one season, as deciduous trees do.
That's all for today. For next class, you should read the next chapter and do the same with it that you did with the chapter for today. See you next class.