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The cone of Pinophyta (conifer clade) contains the reproductive structures. The woody cone is the female cone, which produces seeds. The male cone, which produces pollen, is usually ephemeral and much less conspicuous even at full maturity. The name "cone" derives from Greek konos (pine cone), which also gave name to the geometric cone.
Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta ( / p ɪ ˈ n ɒ f ɪ t ə , ˈ p aɪ n oʊ f aɪ t ə / ), also known as Coniferophyta ( / ˌ k ɒ n ɪ f ə ˈ r ɒ f ɪ t ə , - oʊ f aɪ t ə / ) or Coniferae .
A strobilus (pl.: strobili) is a structure present on many land plant species consisting of sporangia-bearing structures densely aggregated along a stem.Strobili are often called cones, but some botanists restrict the use of the term cone to the woody seed strobili of conifers.
The male cones are small, 0.5–6 cm (1 ⁄ 4 – 2 + 1 ⁄ 4 in) long, and fall soon after pollination; pollen dispersal is by wind. Seed dispersal is mostly by wind, but some species have large seeds with reduced wings, and are dispersed by birds.
The female cones are spherical with pointed bract scales 12–15 mm in diameter. The male cones are much smaller 3–5 mm in diameter. The common name pencil pine is based on it being an evergreen conical-shaped tree which grows up to 20 m, with trunks up to 1.5 m in diameter. [ 7 ]
The seed cones are globose, 7–14 millimetres (9 ⁄ 32 – 9 ⁄ 16 in) in diameter, with 6–10 scales, green at first, maturing brown in early fall, 6–8 months after pollination. The male cones are 3–4 millimetres (1 ⁄ 8 – 5 ⁄ 32 in) long, dark red, turning brown after pollen release in early spring. The seeds fall quickly and can ...
The seed cones are highly modified, each cone containing a single seed 4–7 mm (5 ⁄ 32 – 9 ⁄ 32 in) long partly surrounded by a modified scale which develops into a soft, bright red berry-like structure called an aril, 8–15 mm (5 ⁄ 16 – 19 ⁄ 32 in) long and wide and open at the end.
The female cones (seed), which mature in autumn about 18 months after pollination, are globose, large, 18–25 cm (7–10 in) in diameter, and hold about 100–150 seeds. The cones disintegrate at maturity to release the approximately 5 cm (2 in) long nut -like seeds, which are then dispersed by animals, notably the azure jay , Cyanocorax ...