• Sequoiadendron giganteum the giant sequoia, giant redwood

Branching mostly flat, not strict. Leaves awl like +/- appressed along stems, emergent. Seed cone egg shaped, not borne on featherlet branchlet.

• Sequia sempervirens redwood, coast sequoia

Branching in featherlets of compound branches with two ranks of soft, decurrent needle like leaves, which bear a white band of stomates on their undersides. Seed cones small, oblong, woody and borne with attached featherlet.

• Metasequoia glyptostroboides dawn redwood

Branching much as above, but uniquely deciduous. Leaves much as above, but with some being awl shaped. Seed cones much as above. Was thought to be a lost species before rediscovery in China.

• Cedrus atlantica the atlas cedar

Branching is in a plane +/-, with branches spreading at tips. Leaves in distinct clusters arising from short shoots along branches. Leaves are sharp in addition to having a needle shape. Seed cone is +/-ovoid, scales falling off at maturity, apex is flat.

• Cedrus deodara the deodar cedar

Branching is much as above, but with branches often drooping at tips. Leaves arranged as above, however the leaves are soft, and often a grassier green. Seed cones are as above, but with rounded apex.

• Larix larch

Branching resembles Cedrus. Leaves in two varieties, dense clusters at short shoots, and spirally inserted individually into branches. These are all deciduous. Seed cones are small, erect, keep scales at maturity, and have varying bract length.

• Picea spruce

Three dimensional branching, with terminal buds being broadly conic and shiny grey. Needles attached individually on obvious pegs, bottle brushy appearance needles very sharp. Seed cones having short bracts, not visible, often resinous, scales often with crimped margins.

• Picea stichensis the sitka spruce

Characters like to genus, with following specifics: leaves dark glaucus blue-green above with thin bands of stomata, blue white with two prominent bands of stomata below. Seed cones pendulous, bracts not visible or just emergent.

• Pseudotsuga menziesii the Douglas fir

Branching is three dimensional, with terminal buds being narrow conic and red brown. Leaves inserted bottle brush fashion with short pegs, not as smooth or sharp as Picea leaves. Seed cones ovoid, with scales remaining, typically smooth margins, and with obvious "dead mice" looking bracts much longer than scales.

• Tsuga heterophylla the western hemlock

Branching is somewhat flattened. Leaves are in two ranks along branches, branches with many short hairs, tips of leaves blunt, leaves are of varying orientation and length giving a messy appearance. Two bands of white stomata on underside, upper side glossy green. Seed cones are pendulous, cylindrical to broadly ovoid at maturity.

• Taxus brevifolia the western yew

Branching as above, but with smooth branches. Leaves often having a purple/orange cast about them, tips pointed, gently decurrent. Trees diocious, seeds borne in red fleshy arils, not cones.

• Abies grandis the grand fir

Branching as above. Leaves have spiral insertion, but are twisted at base so as to lie in +/- two ranks along branches. Leaves are glossy dark green on upper side, with two rows of stomata on underside. Length of leaf varies, but usually are arranged long short and so on. Seed cones lose scales at maturity, bracts are not visible, cones small, erect.

• A. concolor the white fir

Branching as above. Leaves much as above, but with leaves being more equal in length, and stomata on both surface resulting in a pale leaf. Cones as above.