+1
"coniferous" refers to an informal mix of trees and shrubs that usually have needle-shaped and scalelike leaves. By using this word to describe the darkness I believe the speaker is describing how scattered the darkness is and how certain areas are darker than others due to the different heights and shapes of the mountains. This creates an eerie image as the darkness that the mountains create is being compared to the shade of the needlelike leaves. Paraphrase the above paragraph in the simplest form