#Pine cones full

This process occurs with older cones while attached to branches and even after the older cones have fallen to the forest floor. A pine cone will go through many cycles of opening and closing during its life span, even after seed dispersal is complete. This assures that the small, windborne seeds will be dispersed during relatively dry weather, and thus, the distance traveled from the parent tree will be enhanced. The cones are conic, cylindrical or ovoid (egg-shaped), and small to very large, from 2–60 cm long and 1–20 cm broad.Īfter ripening, the opening of non- serotinous pine cones is associated with their moisture content-cones are open when dry and closed when wet. The cones open either by the seed scales flexing back when they dry out, or (in firs, cedars and golden larch) by the cones disintegrating with the seed scales falling off. Maturation takes 6–8 months from pollination in most Pinaceae genera, but 12 months in cedars and 18–24 months (rarely more) in most pines. The scales open temporarily to receive pollen, then close during fertilization and maturation, and then re-open again at maturity to allow the seed to escape. The bract scales develop first, and are conspicuous at the time of pollination the seed scales develop later to enclose and protect the seeds, with the bract scales often not growing further. On the upper-side base of each seed scale are two ovules that develop into seeds after fertilization by pollen grains. The female cone has two types of scale: the bract scales, and the seed scales (or ovuliferous scales), one subtended by each bract scale, derived from a highly modified branchlet. These pine cones, especially the woody female cones, are considered the 'archetypal' tree cones. The members of the pine family ( pines, spruces, firs, cedars, larches, etc.) have cones that are imbricate (that is, with scales overlapping each other like fish scales). The female cone structure varies more markedly between the different conifer families, and is often crucial for the identification of many species of conifers. The female cone ( megastrobilus, seed cone, or ovulate cone) contains ovules which, when fertilized by pollen, become seeds. Under each microsporophyll is one or several microsporangia ( pollen sacs). Extending out from a central axis are microsporophylls (modified leaves). The male cone ( microstrobilus or pollen cone) is structurally similar across all conifers, differing only in small ways (mostly in scale arrangement) from species to species. The umbo of a conifer cone refers to the first year's growth of a seed scale on the cone, showing up as a protuberance at the end of the two-year-old scale. The individual plates of a cone are known as scales. The name 'cone' derives from Greek konos (pinecone), which also gave name to the geometric cone.

#Pine cones full

The male cone, which produces pollen, is usually herbaceous and much less conspicuous even at full maturity. The woody cone is the female cone, which produces seeds. The cone of Pinophyta (conifer clade) contains the reproductive structures.

It is, usually woody, ovoid to globular, including scales and bracts arranged around a central axis, especially in conifers and cycads. scopulorum)Ī conifer cone (in formal botanical usage: strobilus, plural strobili) is a seed-bearing organ on gymnosperm plants. Immature male or pollen cones of Rocky Mountain ponderosa pine.