diff --git a/bdw.c b/bdw.c
index caf53b69f..c8fdc5a80 100644
--- a/bdw.c
+++ b/bdw.c
@@ -20,8 +20,6 @@
 #error bdw-gc is a conservative collector
 #endif
 
-#include "conservative-roots-embedder.h"
-
 // When pthreads are used, let `libgc' know about it and redirect
 // allocation calls such as `GC_MALLOC ()' to (contention-free, faster)
 // thread-local allocation.
diff --git a/conservative-roots-api.h b/conservative-roots-api.h
deleted file mode 100644
index 1619cf640..000000000
--- a/conservative-roots-api.h
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,12 +0,0 @@
-#ifndef CONSERVATIVE_ROOTS_API_H
-#define CONSERVATIVE_ROOTS_API_H
-
-#include "conservative-roots-types.h"
-
-#define HANDLE_TO(T) union { T* v; struct handle handle; }
-#define HANDLE_REF(h) h.v
-#define HANDLE_SET(h,val) do { h.v = val; } while (0)
-#define PUSH_HANDLE(cx, h) do { (void) &h; } while (0)
-#define POP_HANDLE(cx) do { } while (0)
-
-#endif // CONSERVATIVE_ROOTS_API_H
diff --git a/conservative-roots-embedder.h b/conservative-roots-embedder.h
deleted file mode 100644
index 4d2c4fa7b..000000000
--- a/conservative-roots-embedder.h
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,54 +0,0 @@
-#ifndef CONSERVATIVE_ROOTS_EMBEDDER_H
-#define CONSERVATIVE_ROOTS_EMBEDDER_H
-
-#include "gc-config.h"
-#include "gc-embedder-api.h"
-
-static inline int gc_has_mutator_conservative_roots(void) {
-  return 1;
-}
-static inline int gc_mutator_conservative_roots_may_be_interior(void) {
-  return 1;
-}
-static inline int gc_has_global_conservative_roots(void) {
-  return 1;
-}
-static inline int gc_has_conservative_intraheap_edges(void) {
-  return GC_CONSERVATIVE_TRACE;
-}
-
-static inline int
-gc_is_valid_conservative_ref_displacement(uintptr_t displacement) {
-  // Here is where you would allow tagged heap object references.
-  return displacement == 0;
-}
-static inline int
-gc_conservative_ref_might_be_a_heap_object(struct gc_conservative_ref ref,
-                                           int possibly_interior) {
-  // Assume that the minimum page size is 4096, and that the first page
-  // will contain no heap objects.
-  if (gc_conservative_ref_value(ref) < 4096)
-    return 0;
-  if (possibly_interior)
-    return 1;
-  return gc_is_valid_conservative_ref_displacement
-    (gc_conservative_ref_value(ref) & (sizeof(uintptr_t) - 1));
-}
-
-static inline void gc_trace_mutator_roots(struct gc_mutator_roots *roots,
-                                          void (*trace_edge)(struct gc_edge edge,
-                                                             struct gc_heap *heap,
-                                                             void *trace_data),
-                                          struct gc_heap *heap,
-                                          void *trace_data) {
-}
-
-static inline void gc_trace_heap_roots(struct gc_heap_roots *roots,
-                                       void (*trace_edge)(struct gc_edge edge,
-                                                          struct gc_heap *heap,
-                                                          void *trace_data),
-                                       struct gc_heap *heap,
-                                       void *trace_data) {
-}
-
-#endif // CONSERVATIVE_ROOTS_EMBEDDER_H
diff --git a/conservative-roots-types.h b/conservative-roots-types.h
deleted file mode 100644
index 4744d746e..000000000
--- a/conservative-roots-types.h
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,8 +0,0 @@
-#ifndef CONSERVATIVE_ROOTS_TYPES_H
-#define CONSERVATIVE_ROOTS_TYPES_H
-
-struct handle { void *unused; };
-struct gc_heap_roots { void *unused; };
-struct gc_mutator_roots { void *unused; };
-
-#endif // CONSERVATIVE_ROOTS_TYPES_H
diff --git a/gc-embedder-api.h b/gc-embedder-api.h
index 3b3682a71..e0a6b3b5a 100644
--- a/gc-embedder-api.h
+++ b/gc-embedder-api.h
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 #ifndef GC_EMBEDDER_API_H
 #define GC_EMBEDDER_API_H
 
-#include "gc-conservative-ref.h"
+#include "gc-config.h"
 #include "gc-edge.h"
 #include "gc-forwarding.h"
 
@@ -14,14 +14,7 @@ struct gc_heap_roots;
 struct gc_atomic_forward;
 struct gc_heap;
 
-GC_EMBEDDER_API inline int gc_has_mutator_conservative_roots(void);
-GC_EMBEDDER_API inline int gc_has_global_conservative_roots(void);
-GC_EMBEDDER_API inline int gc_has_conservative_intraheap_edges(void);
-GC_EMBEDDER_API inline int gc_mutator_conservative_roots_may_be_interior(void);
-
 GC_EMBEDDER_API inline int gc_is_valid_conservative_ref_displacement(uintptr_t displacement);
-GC_EMBEDDER_API inline int gc_conservative_ref_might_be_a_heap_object(struct gc_conservative_ref,
-                                                                      int possibly_interior);
 
 GC_EMBEDDER_API inline void gc_trace_object(struct gc_ref ref,
                                             void (*visit)(struct gc_edge edge,
diff --git a/gc-trace.h b/gc-trace.h
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b9e4691e8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/gc-trace.h
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+#ifndef GC_TRACE_H
+#define GC_TRACE_H
+
+#ifndef GC_IMPL
+#error internal header file, not part of API
+#endif
+
+#include "gc-config.h"
+#include "gc-assert.h"
+#include "gc-conservative-ref.h"
+#include "gc-embedder-api.h"
+
+static inline int gc_has_mutator_conservative_roots(void) {
+  return GC_CONSERVATIVE_ROOTS;
+}
+static inline int gc_mutator_conservative_roots_may_be_interior(void) {
+  return 1;
+}
+static inline int gc_has_global_conservative_roots(void) {
+  return GC_CONSERVATIVE_ROOTS;
+}
+static inline int gc_has_conservative_intraheap_edges(void) {
+  return GC_CONSERVATIVE_TRACE;
+}
+
+static inline int gc_has_conservative_roots(void) {
+  return gc_has_mutator_conservative_roots() ||
+    gc_has_global_conservative_roots();
+}
+
+static inline int
+gc_conservative_ref_might_be_a_heap_object(struct gc_conservative_ref ref,
+                                           int possibly_interior) {
+  // Assume that the minimum page size is 4096, and that the first page
+  // will contain no heap objects.
+  if (gc_conservative_ref_value(ref) < 4096)
+    return 0;
+  if (possibly_interior)
+    return 1;
+  return gc_is_valid_conservative_ref_displacement
+    (gc_conservative_ref_value(ref) & (sizeof(uintptr_t) - 1));
+}
+
+#endif // GC_TRACE_H
diff --git a/mt-gcbench.c b/mt-gcbench.c
index 744a7e66b..ac0eb1ff9 100644
--- a/mt-gcbench.c
+++ b/mt-gcbench.c
@@ -47,13 +47,7 @@
 #include "assert.h"
 #include "gc-api.h"
 #include "mt-gcbench-types.h"
-#if GC_PRECISE_ROOTS
-#include "precise-roots-api.h"
-#endif
-#if GC_CONSERVATIVE_ROOTS
-#include "conservative-roots-api.h"
-#endif
-#include "mt-gcbench-types.h"
+#include "simple-roots-api.h"
 #include "simple-allocator.h"
 
 #define MAX_THREAD_COUNT 256
diff --git a/precise-roots-embedder.h b/precise-roots-embedder.h
deleted file mode 100644
index 94192cb51..000000000
--- a/precise-roots-embedder.h
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,61 +0,0 @@
-#ifndef PRECISE_ROOTS_EMBEDDER_H
-#define PRECISE_ROOTS_EMBEDDER_H
-
-#include "gc-edge.h"
-#include "gc-embedder-api.h"
-#include "precise-roots-types.h"
-
-static inline int gc_has_mutator_conservative_roots(void) {
-  return 0;
-}
-static inline int gc_mutator_conservative_roots_may_be_interior(void) {
-  return 0;
-}
-static inline int gc_has_global_conservative_roots(void) {
-  return 0;
-}
-static inline int gc_has_conservative_intraheap_edges(void) {
-  return 0;
-}
-
-static inline int
-gc_is_valid_conservative_ref_displacement(uintptr_t displacement) {
-  GC_CRASH();
-}
-static inline int
-gc_conservative_ref_might_be_a_heap_object(struct gc_conservative_ref ref,
-                                           int possibly_interior) {
-  GC_CRASH();
-}
-
-static inline void visit_roots(struct handle *roots,
-                               void (*trace_edge)(struct gc_edge edge,
-                                                  struct gc_heap *heap,
-                                                  void *trace_data),
-                               struct gc_heap *heap,
-                               void *trace_data) {
-  for (struct handle *h = roots; h; h = h->next)
-    trace_edge(gc_edge(&h->v), heap, trace_data);
-}
-
-static inline void gc_trace_mutator_roots(struct gc_mutator_roots *roots,
-                                          void (*trace_edge)(struct gc_edge edge,
-                                                             struct gc_heap *heap,
-                                                             void *trace_data),
-                                          struct gc_heap *heap,
-                                          void *trace_data) {
-  if (roots)
-    visit_roots(roots->roots, trace_edge, heap, trace_data);
-}
-
-static inline void gc_trace_heap_roots(struct gc_heap_roots *roots,
-                                       void (*trace_edge)(struct gc_edge edge,
-                                                          struct gc_heap *heap,
-                                                          void *trace_data),
-                                       struct gc_heap *heap,
-                                       void *trace_data) {
-  if (roots)
-    visit_roots(roots->roots, trace_edge, heap, trace_data);
-}
-
-#endif // PRECISE_ROOTS_EMBEDDER_H
diff --git a/quads.c b/quads.c
index b7d1bccc3..27923f1f7 100644
--- a/quads.c
+++ b/quads.c
@@ -5,12 +5,7 @@
 
 #include "assert.h"
 #include "gc-api.h"
-#if GC_PRECISE_ROOTS
-#include "precise-roots-api.h"
-#endif
-#if GC_CONSERVATIVE_ROOTS
-#include "conservative-roots-api.h"
-#endif
+#include "simple-roots-api.h"
 #include "quads-types.h"
 #include "simple-allocator.h"
 
diff --git a/semi.c b/semi.c
index 2a3b19f23..4c505b60e 100644
--- a/semi.c
+++ b/semi.c
@@ -11,10 +11,6 @@
 #include "semi-attrs.h"
 #include "large-object-space.h"
 
-#if GC_PRECISE_ROOTS
-#include "precise-roots-embedder.h"
-#endif
-
 #if GC_CONSERVATIVE_ROOTS
 #error semi is a precise collector
 #endif
diff --git a/simple-gc-embedder.h b/simple-gc-embedder.h
index b97d1d7f0..758e56462 100644
--- a/simple-gc-embedder.h
+++ b/simple-gc-embedder.h
@@ -1,8 +1,21 @@
 #include <stdatomic.h>
 
 #include "simple-tagging-scheme.h"
+#include "simple-roots-types.h"
+#include "gc-config.h"
 #include "gc-embedder-api.h"
 
+static inline int
+gc_is_valid_conservative_ref_displacement(uintptr_t displacement) {
+#if GC_CONSERVATIVE_ROOTS || GC_CONSERVATIVE_TRACE
+  // Here is where you would allow tagged heap object references.
+  return displacement == 0;
+#else
+  // Shouldn't get here.
+  GC_CRASH();
+#endif
+}
+
 static inline void gc_trace_object(struct gc_ref ref,
                                    void (*trace_edge)(struct gc_edge edge,
                                                       struct gc_heap *heap,
@@ -10,6 +23,10 @@ static inline void gc_trace_object(struct gc_ref ref,
                                    struct gc_heap *heap,
                                    void *trace_data,
                                    size_t *size) {
+#if GC_CONSERVATIVE_TRACE
+  // Shouldn't get here.
+  GC_CRASH();
+#else
   switch (tag_live_alloc_kind(*tag_word(ref))) {
 #define SCAN_OBJECT(name, Name, NAME)                                   \
     case ALLOC_KIND_##NAME:                                             \
@@ -24,15 +41,38 @@ static inline void gc_trace_object(struct gc_ref ref,
   default:
     GC_CRASH();
   }
+#endif
 }
 
-#if GC_PRECISE_ROOTS
-#include "precise-roots-embedder.h"
-#endif
+static inline void visit_roots(struct handle *roots,
+                               void (*trace_edge)(struct gc_edge edge,
+                                                  struct gc_heap *heap,
+                                                  void *trace_data),
+                               struct gc_heap *heap,
+                               void *trace_data) {
+  for (struct handle *h = roots; h; h = h->next)
+    trace_edge(gc_edge(&h->v), heap, trace_data);
+}
 
-#if GC_CONSERVATIVE_ROOTS
-#include "conservative-roots-embedder.h"
-#endif
+static inline void gc_trace_mutator_roots(struct gc_mutator_roots *roots,
+                                          void (*trace_edge)(struct gc_edge edge,
+                                                             struct gc_heap *heap,
+                                                             void *trace_data),
+                                          struct gc_heap *heap,
+                                          void *trace_data) {
+  if (roots)
+    visit_roots(roots->roots, trace_edge, heap, trace_data);
+}
+
+static inline void gc_trace_heap_roots(struct gc_heap_roots *roots,
+                                       void (*trace_edge)(struct gc_edge edge,
+                                                          struct gc_heap *heap,
+                                                          void *trace_data),
+                                       struct gc_heap *heap,
+                                       void *trace_data) {
+  if (roots)
+    visit_roots(roots->roots, trace_edge, heap, trace_data);
+}
 
 static inline uintptr_t gc_object_forwarded_nonatomic(struct gc_ref ref) {
   uintptr_t tag = *tag_word(ref);
@@ -108,9 +148,3 @@ gc_atomic_forward_address(struct gc_atomic_forward *fwd) {
   GC_ASSERT(fwd->state == GC_FORWARDING_STATE_FORWARDED);
   return fwd->data;
 }
-
-static inline uintptr_t
-gc_conservative_ref_heap_address(struct gc_conservative_ref ref) {
-  // The specific spaces are responsible for checking alignment.
-  return gc_conservative_ref_value(ref);
-}
diff --git a/precise-roots-api.h b/simple-roots-api.h
similarity index 60%
rename from precise-roots-api.h
rename to simple-roots-api.h
index ced560d15..1cdfc15e0 100644
--- a/precise-roots-api.h
+++ b/simple-roots-api.h
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
-#ifndef PRECISE_ROOTS_API_H
-#define PRECISE_ROOTS_API_H
+#ifndef SIMPLE_ROOTS_API_H
+#define SIMPLE_ROOTS_API_H
 
-#include "precise-roots-types.h"
+#include "gc-config.h"
+#include "simple-roots-types.h"
 
 #define HANDLE_TO(T) union { T* v; struct handle handle; }
 #define HANDLE_REF(h) h.v
@@ -10,12 +11,15 @@
 #define POP_HANDLE(cx) pop_handle(&(cx)->roots.roots)
 
 static inline void push_handle(struct handle **roots, struct handle *handle) {
-  handle->next = *roots;
-  *roots = handle;
+  if (GC_PRECISE_ROOTS) {
+    handle->next = *roots;
+    *roots = handle;
+  }
 }
 
 static inline void pop_handle(struct handle **roots) {
-  *roots = (*roots)->next;
+  if (GC_PRECISE_ROOTS)
+    *roots = (*roots)->next;
 }
 
-#endif // PRECISE_ROOTS_API_H
+#endif // SIMPLE_ROOTS_API_H
diff --git a/precise-roots-types.h b/simple-roots-types.h
similarity index 63%
rename from precise-roots-types.h
rename to simple-roots-types.h
index d2dc96491..6d47fa788 100644
--- a/precise-roots-types.h
+++ b/simple-roots-types.h
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
-#ifndef PRECISE_ROOTS_TYPES_H
-#define PRECISE_ROOTS_TYPES_H
+#ifndef SIMPLE_ROOTS_TYPES_H
+#define SIMPLE_ROOTS_TYPES_H
 
 struct handle {
   void *v;
@@ -14,4 +14,4 @@ struct gc_mutator_roots {
   struct handle *roots;
 };
 
-#endif // PRECISE_ROOTS_TYPES_H
+#endif // SIMPLE_ROOTS_TYPES_H
diff --git a/whippet.c b/whippet.c
index 7ae78671b..90f2b470c 100644
--- a/whippet.c
+++ b/whippet.c
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
 #include "gc-inline.h"
 #include "gc-platform.h"
 #include "gc-stack.h"
+#include "gc-trace.h"
 #include "large-object-space.h"
 #if GC_PARALLEL
 #include "parallel-tracer.h"
@@ -26,14 +27,6 @@
 #include "spin.h"
 #include "whippet-attrs.h"
 
-#if GC_PRECISE_ROOTS
-#include "precise-roots-embedder.h"
-#endif
-
-#if GC_CONSERVATIVE_ROOTS
-#include "conservative-roots-embedder.h"
-#endif
-
 #define GRANULE_SIZE 16
 #define GRANULE_SIZE_LOG_2 4
 #define MEDIUM_OBJECT_THRESHOLD 256
@@ -1455,11 +1448,6 @@ static double clamp_major_gc_yield_threshold(struct gc_heap *heap,
   return threshold;
 }
 
-static inline int has_conservative_roots(void) {
-  return gc_has_mutator_conservative_roots() ||
-    gc_has_global_conservative_roots();
-}
-
 static enum gc_kind determine_collection_kind(struct gc_heap *heap) {
   struct mark_space *mark_space = heap_mark_space(heap);
   enum gc_kind previous_gc_kind = atomic_load(&heap->gc_kind);
@@ -1489,7 +1477,7 @@ static enum gc_kind determine_collection_kind(struct gc_heap *heap) {
     // blocks, try to avoid any pinning caused by the ragged-stop
     // marking.  Of course if the mutator has conservative roots we will
     // have pinning anyway and might as well allow ragged stops.
-    mark_while_stopping = has_conservative_roots();
+    mark_while_stopping = gc_has_conservative_roots();
   } else if (previous_gc_kind == GC_KIND_MAJOR_EVACUATING
              && fragmentation >= heap->fragmentation_low_threshold) {
     DEBUG("continuing evacuation due to fragmentation %.2f%% > %.2f%%\n",