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A conifer cone, or in formal botanical usage a strobilus, pl.: strobili, is a seed-bearing organ on gymnosperm plants, especially in conifers and cycads. They are usually woody and variously conic, cylindrical, ovoid, to globular, and have scales and bracts arranged around a central axis, but can be fleshy and berry-like.
The female cone then opens, releasing the seeds which grow to a young seedling. To fertilize the ovum, the male cone releases pollen that is carried in the wind to the female cone. This is pollination. (Male and female cones usually occur on the same plant.) The pollen fertilizes the female gamete (located in the female cone).
This results in a scale like appearance. Two forms of woody cones act as the gametophyte structures, which mature approximately six months after pollination and are typically retained on the tree for up to one year. 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 cones are small and inconspicuous at pollination in late winter, the pollen cones in clusters of 10–30 together, the female cones singly or 2–3 together. [ 6 ] The seed cones mature in 7–8 months to 2.5–4.5cm long, ovoid to globose, with spirally arranged scales; each scale bears 3–5 seeds .
Cupressaceae is a widely distributed conifer family, with a near-global range in all continents except for Antarctica, stretching from 70°N in arctic Norway (Juniperus communis) [3] to 55°S in southernmost Chile (Pilgerodendron uviferum), further south than any other conifer species. [4] Juniperus indica reaches 4930 m altitude in Tibet. [5]
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 ...
In its native range, the western conifer seed bug feeds on the sap of developing conifer cones throughout its life, and its sap-sucking causes the developing seeds to wither and misdevelop. It is therefore considered a minor tree pest in North America, but becoming sometimes more harmful e.g. in conifer plantations. [3]
The distinguishing characteristic is the reproductive structure known as a cone produced by all Pinales. All of the extant conifers, such as Araucaria, cedar, celery-pine, cypress, fir, juniper, kauri, larch, pine, redwood, spruce, and yew, are included here.