A cone (in formal botanical Botany, plant science, phytology, or plant biology is a branch of biology that involves the scientific study of plant life. Botany covers a wide range of scientific disciplines concerned with the study of plants, algae and fungi, including structure, growth, reproduction, metabolism, development, diseases, chemical properties, and evolutionary usage: strobilus A strobilus is a structure present on many plant species consisting of leaf-like, sporangia-bearing structures densely aggregated along a stem. Strobili are often called cones, but many botanists restrict the use of the term cone to the woody seed strobili of conifers. Strobili are characterized by a central axis (anatomically a stem) surrounded, plural strobili) is an organ on plants Plants are living organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. They include familiar organisms such as trees, herbs, bushes, grasses, vines, ferns, mosses, and green algae. The scientific study of plants, known as botany, has identified about 350,000 extant species of plants, defined as seed plants, bryophytes, ferns and fern allies. As of 2004, in the division Pinophyta The conifers, division Pinophyta, also known as division Coniferophyta or Coniferae, are one of 13 or 14 division level taxa within the Kingdom Plantae. Pinophytes are gymnosperms. They are cone-bearing seed plants with vascular tissue; all extant conifers are woody plants, the great majority being trees with just a few being shrubs. Typical (conifers The conifers, division Pinophyta, also known as division Coniferophyta or Coniferae, are one of 13 or 14 division level taxa within the Kingdom Plantae. Pinophytes are gymnosperms. They are cone-bearing seed plants with vascular tissue; all extant conifers are woody plants, the great majority being trees with just a few being shrubs. Typical) that contains the reproductive structures. The familiar woody cone is the female cone, which produces seeds A seed ( /ˈsiːd/ ) is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant. The formation of the seed completes the process of reproduction in seed. The male cones, which produce pollen Pollen is a fine to coarse powder containing the microgametophytes of seed plants, which produce the male gametes . Pollen grains have a hard coat that protects the sperm cells during the process of their movement between the stamens to the pistil of flowering plants or from the male cone to the female cone of coniferous plants. When pollen lands, are usually herbaceous A herbaceous plant is a plant that has leaves and stems that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level. They have no persistent woody stem above ground. A herbaceous plant may be annual, biennial or perennial and much less conspicuous even at full maturity. The name "cone" derives from the fact that the shape in some species resembles a geometric Geometry "Earth-measuring" is a part of mathematics concerned with questions of size, shape, relative position of figures, and the properties of space. Geometry is one of the oldest sciences. Initially a body of practical knowledge concerning lengths, areas, and volumes, in the 3rd century BC geometry was put into an axiomatic form by cone A cone is a three-dimensional geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a flat, usually circular base to a point called the apex or vertex. More precisely, it is the solid figure bounded by a plane base and the surface formed by the locus of all straight line segments joining the apex to the perimeter of the base. The term "cone". The individual plates of a cone are known as scales.

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. Extending out from a central axis are microsporophylls (modified leaves). Under each microsporophyll is one or several microsporangia A sporangium is a plant, fungal, or algal structure producing and containing spores. Sporangia occur in angiosperms, gymnosperms, ferns, fern allies, bryophytes, algae, and fungi. Their spores are sometimes called sporangiospores (pollen sacs).

The female cone (megastrobilus, seed cone, or ovulate Ovule literally means "small egg." In seed plants, the ovule is the structure that gives rise to and contains the female reproductive cells. It consists of three parts: The integuments forming its outer layer, the nucellus , and the megaspore-derived female gametophyte (or megagametophyte) in its center. The megagametophyte (also called cone) contains ovules within which, when fertilized by pollen, become seeds. The female cone structure varies more markedly between the different conifer families, and is often crucial for the identification of many species of conifers.

Contents 1 Female cones of the conifer families 1.1 Pinaceae cones 1.2 Araucariaceae cones 1.3 Podocarpaceae cones 1.4 Cupressaceae cones 1.5 Sciadopityaceae cones 1.6 Taxaceae and Cephalotaxaceae cones 2 Location and distribution 3 Pseudocones 4 Cultural uses of cones 5 Gallery 6 References 7 External links

Female cones of the conifer families

Pinaceae cones

Intact and disintegrated fir cones Young cones of a Colorado Blue Spruce Picea pungens is a species of spruce native to western North America, from southeast Idaho and southwest Wyoming, south through Utah and Colorado to Arizona and New Mexico. It grows at high altitudes from 1,750-3,000 m altitude, though unlike Engelmann Spruce in the same area, it does not reach the alpine tree-line. It is most commonly found

The members of the pine family The family Pinaceae , is in the order Pinales, formerly known as the Coniferales, and includes many of the well-known conifers of commercial importance such as cedars, firs, hemlocks, larches, pines and spruces. It is supported as monophyletic by its protein-type sieve cell plastids, pattern of proembryogeny, and lack of bioflavonoid. It is the (pines See Pinus classification for complete taxonomy to species level. See list of pines by region for list of species by geographical distribution, spruces A spruce is a tree of the genus Picea , a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the Family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal (taiga) regions of the earth. Spruces are large trees, from 20–60 metres (66–200 ft) tall when mature, and can be distinguished by their whorled branches and conical form. The, firs Firs are a genus of 48–55 species of evergreen conifers in the family Pinaceae. They are found through much of North and Central America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa, occurring in mountains over most of the range. Firs are most closely related to the cedars (Cedrus); Douglas-firs are not true firs, being of the genus Pseudotsuga, cedars Cedrus, is a genus of coniferous trees in the plant family Pinaceae. They are native to the mountains of the western Himalaya and the Mediterranean region, occurring at altitudes of 1,500–3,200 m in the Himalaya and 1,000–2,200 m in the Mediterranean, larches Larches are conifers in the genus Larix, in the family Pinaceae. Growing from 15-50m tall, they are native to much of the cooler temperate northern hemisphere, on lowlands in the far north, and high on mountains further south. Larch are among the dominant plants in the immense boreal forests of Russia and Canada, etc.) have cones that are imbricate with scales overlapping each other like fish scales. These are the "archetypal" cones. The scales are spirally arranged in fibonacci number The Fibonacci sequence is named after Leonardo of Pisa, who was known as Fibonacci . Fibonacci's 1202 book Liber Abaci introduced the sequence to Western European mathematics, although the sequence had been previously described in Indian mathematics ratios.

The female cone has two types of scale: the bract scales, derived from a modified leaf, and the seed scales (or ovuliferous scales), one subtending each bract scale, derived from a highly modified branchlet. On the upper-side base of each seed scale are two ovules that develop into seeds after fertilisation by pollen grains. 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. The scales open temporarily to receive pollen, then close during fertilisation and maturation, and then re-open again at maturity to allow the seed to escape. 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 cones open either by the seed scales flexing back when they dry out, or (in firs, cedars and golden larch Pseudolarix is a monotypic genus in the family Pinaceae. The sole species, Pseudolarix amabilis is commonly known as Golden Larch, though it is not a true larch , being more closely related to Keteleeria, Abies and Cedrus. It is native to eastern China, occurring in small areas in the mountains of southern Anhui, Zhejiang, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan,) by the cones disintegrating with the seed scales falling off. The cones are conic A cone is a three-dimensional geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a flat, usually circular base to a point called the apex or vertex. More precisely, it is the solid figure bounded by a plane base and the surface formed by the locus of all straight line segments joining the apex to the perimeter of the base. The term "cone", cylindrical A cylinder is one of the most basic curvilinear geometric shapes, the surface formed by the points at a fixed distance from a given straight line, the axis of the cylinder. The solid enclosed by this surface and by two planes perpendicular to the axis is also called a cylinder. The surface area and the volume of a cylinder have been known since or ovoid In technical drawing, an oval is a figure constructed from two pairs of arcs, with two different radii (see image on the right). The arcs are joined at a point, in which lines tangential to both joining arcs lie on the same line, thus making the joint smooth. Any point of an oval belongs to an arc with a constant radius (shorter or longer), (egg-shaped), and small to very large, from 2-60 cm long and 1-20 cm broad.

After ripening, the opening of non-serotinous Serotiny is an ecological adaptation exhibited by some seed plants, in which seed release occurs in response to an environmental trigger, rather than spontaneously at seed maturation. The most common and best studied trigger is fire, and the term serotiny is often used to refer to this specific case. The term has also been used in the more general pine cones is associated with their moisture content—cones are open when dry and closed when wet.^[1] This assures that the small, wind disseminated seeds will be dispersed during relatively dry weather, and thus, the distance traveled from the parent tree will be enhanced. A pine cone will go through many cycles of opening and closing during its life span, even after seed dispersal is complete.^[2] This process occurs with older cones while attached to branches and even after the older cones have fallen to the forest floor The forest floor, also called detritus, duff and the O horizon, is one of the most distinctive features of a forest ecosystem. It mainly consists of shed vegetative parts, such as leaves, branches, bark, and stems, existing in various stages of decomposition above the soil surface. Although principally composed of nonliving organic material, the. The condition of fallen pine cones is a crude indication of the forest floor's moisture content, which is an important indication of wildfire A wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, grass fire, hill fire, peat fire, vegetation fire, veldfire and wildland fire may be used to describe the same phenomenon depending on the type of vegetation being burned. A risk. Closed cones indicate damp conditions while open cones indicate the forest floor is dry.

Araucariaceae cones

Members of the Araucariaceae Araucariaceae is a very ancient family of conifers. It achieved its maximum diversity in the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, when it was distributed almost worldwide. At the end of the Cretaceous, when dinosaurs became extinct, so too did the Araucariaceae in the northern hemisphere (Araucaria Araucaria is a genus of evergreen coniferous trees in the family Araucariaceae. There are 19 species in the genus, with a highly disjunct distribution in New Caledonia , Norfolk Island, eastern Australia, New Guinea, Argentina, Chile, and southern Brazil, Agathis The genus Agathis, commonly known as kauri or dammar, is a relatively small genus of 21 species of evergreen tree. The genus is part of the ancient Araucariaceae family of conifers, a group once widespread during the Jurassic period, but now largely restricted to the Southern Hemisphere except for a number of extant Malesian Agathis, Wollemia Wollemia is a genus of coniferous tree in the family Araucariaceae. The Australian species Wollemia nobilis is the sole species in the genus Wollemia and was discovered in 1994 in a remote series of narrow, steep-sided sandstone gorges near Lithgow in temperate rainforest wilderness area of the Wollemi National Park in New South Wales, 150) have the bract and seed scales fully fused, and have only one ovule on each scale. The cones are spherical or nearly so, and large to very large, 5-30 cm diameter, and mature in 18 months; at maturity, they disintegrate to release the seeds. In Agathis, the seeds are winged and separate readily from the seed scale, but in the other two genera, the seed is wingless and fused to the scale.

Podocarpaceae cones

Berry-like Podocarpus cone

The cones of the Podocarpaceae Podocarpaceae is a large family of mainly Southern Hemisphere conifers, comprising about 156 species of evergreen trees and shrubs. It contains 19 genera if Phyllocladus is included and if Manoao and Sundacarpus are recognized are similar in function, though not in development, to those of the Taxaceae (q.v. below), being berry-like with the scales highly modified, evolved to attract birds Birds are winged, bipedal, endothermic (warm-blooded), egg-laying, vertebrate animals. There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most varied of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from the 5 cm (2 in) Bee Hummingbird to the 2.75 m (9 ft) Ostrich into dispersing the seeds. In most of the genera, two to ten or more scales are fused together into a usually swollen, brightly coloured, soft, edible fleshy aril An aril is any specialized outgrowth from the funiculus (attachment point of the seed) (or hilum) that covers or is attached to the seed. It is sometimes applied to any appendage or thickening of the seed coat in flowering plants, such as the edible parts of the mangosteen and pomegranate fruit, the mace of the nutmeg seed, or the hairs of a. Usually only one or two scales at the apex of the cone are fertile, each bearing a single wingless seed, but in Saxegothaea Saxegothaea is a genus comprising a single species of conifer belonging to the podocarp family Podocarpaceae, its full scientific name is Saxegothaea conspicua, native to southern South America. It grows in Chile and Argentina from 35° to 46° South latitude, in its northernmost natural distribution it grows between 800 and 1000 m above sea level several scales may be fertile. The fleshy scale complex is 0.5-3 cm long, and the seeds 4-10 mm long. In some genera (e.g. Prumnopitys Prumnopitys is a genus of conifers belonging to the podocarp family Podocarpaceae. The eight recognised species of Prumnopitys are densely-branched, dioecious evergreen trees up to 40 metres in height. The leaves are similar to those of the yew, strap-shaped, 1-4 cm long and 2-3 mm broad, with a soft texture; they are green above, and with two), the scales are minute and not fleshy, but the seed coat develops a fleshy layer instead, the cone having the appearance of one to three small plums A plum or gage is a stone fruit tree in the genus Prunus, subgenus Prunus. The subgenus is distinguished from other subgenera in the shoots having a terminal bud and the side buds solitary (not clustered), the flowers in groups of one to five together on short stems, and the fruit having a groove running down one side and a smooth stone (or pit) on a central stem. The seeds have a hard coat evolved to resist digestion in the bird's stomach, and are passed in the bird's droppings.

Cupressaceae cones

Juniper "berries", which are used to flavor gin Gin is a spirit whose predominant flavor is derived from juniper berries . Although several different styles of gin have existed since its origins, gin is broadly differentiated into two basic legal categories. Distilled gin is crafted in the traditional manner, by re-distilling neutral spirit of agricultural origin with juniper berries and other, are actually modified cones. Giant Sequoia Sequoiadendron giganteum is the sole living species in the genus Sequoiadendron, and one of three species of coniferous trees known as redwoods, classified in the family Cupressaceae in the subfamily Sequoioideae, together with Sequoia sempervirens (Coast Redwood) and Metasequoia glyptostroboides (Dawn Redwood). The common use of the name " cones

Members of the cypress family The Cupressaceae or cypress family is a conifer family with worldwide distribution. The family includes 27 to 30 genera with about 130-140 species. They are monoecious, subdioecious or (rarely) dioecious trees and shrubs from 1-116 m (3-379 ft) tall. The bark of mature trees is commonly orange- to red- brown and of stringy texture, often flaking (cypresses The genus Cupressus is one of several genera within the family Cupressaceae that have the common name cypress; for the others, see cypress. It is considered a polyphyletic group. Based on genetic and morphological analysis, the Cupressus are found in the Cupressoideae subfamily, arborvitae Thuja is a genus of coniferous trees in the Cupressaceae (cypress family). There are five species in the genus, two native to North America and three native to eastern Asia. The genus is monophyletic and sister to Thujopsis, junipers Junipers are coniferous plants in the genus Juniperus of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on taxonomic viewpoint, there are between 50-67 species of juniper, widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, from the Arctic, south to tropical Africa in the Old World, and to the mountains of Central America, redwoods Sequoia sempervirens is the sole living species of the genus Sequoia in the cypress family Cupressaceae (formerly treated in Taxodiaceae). Common names include coast redwood, giant redwood and California redwood (it is one of three species of trees known as redwoods, but redwood per se normally refers to this species). It is an evergreen, long-, etc) differ in that the bract and seed scales are fully fused, with the bract visible as no more than a small lump or spine on the scale. The botanical term galbulus (plural galbuli; from the Latin Latin or sometimes Roman is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Although often considered a dead language, in view of the fact that it has no native speakers, a small number of scholars can fluently speak it and it continues to be taught in schools and universities and has been, and currently is, used in the process of for a cypress cone) is sometimes used instead of strobilus for members of this family. The female cones have one to 20 ovules on each scale. They often have peltate scales, as opposed to the imbricate cones described above, though some have imbricate scales. The cones are usually small, 0.3-6 cm long, and often spherical or nearly so, like those of Nootka Cypress Nootka Cypress , formerly Cupressus nootkatensis, Xanthocyparis nootkatensis or Chamaecyparis nootkatensis, is a cypress (Cupressaceae) with a chequered taxonomic and nomenclatural history, while others, such as Western Redcedar Western red cedar , also Western redcedar, is a species of Thuja, an evergreen coniferous tree in the cypress family Cupressaceae. In the American horticultural trade, it is also known as the Giant Arborvitae, Arborvitae being another name for its genus. Western red cedar is the Provincial tree of British Columbia, and has extensive applications, are narrow. The scales are arranged either spirally, or in decussate whorls of two (opposite pairs) or three, rarely four. The genera with spiral scale arrangement were often treated in a separate family (Taxodiaceae) in the past. In most of the genera, the cones are woody and the seeds have two narrow wings (one along each side of the seed), but in three genera (Platycladus Platycladus is a distinct genus of evergreen coniferous tree in the cypress family Cupressaceae, containing only one species, Platycladus orientalis, also known as Chinese Arborvitae or Biota. It is native to northwestern China and widely naturalised elsewhere in Asia east to Korea and Japan, south to northern India, and west to northern Iran, Microbiota Microbiota is a genus of evergreen coniferous shrub in the cypress family Cupressaceae, containing only one species, Microbiota decussata. It is native to a limited area of the Sikhote-Alin mountains in Primorsky Krai in the Russian Far East and Juniperus Junipers are coniferous plants in the genus Juniperus of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on taxonomic viewpoint, there are between 50-67 species of juniper, widely distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, from the Arctic, south to tropical Africa in the Old World, and to the mountains of Central America), the seeds are wingless, and in Juniperus, the cones are fleshy and berry-like.

Tetraclinis cones

Sciadopityaceae cones

The cones and seeds of Sciadopitys (the only member of the family) are similar to those of some Cupressaceae, but larger, 6-11 cm long; the scales are imbricate and spirally arranged, and have 5-9 ovules on each scale.

Taxaceae and Cephalotaxaceae cones

Berry-like yew cone

Members of the yew family and the closely related Cephalotaxaceae have the most highly modified cones of any conifer. There is only one scale in the female cone, with a single poisonous ovule. The scale develops into a soft, brightly coloured sweet, juicy, berry-like aril which partly encloses the deadly seed. The seed alone is poisonous. The whole 'berry' with the seed is eaten by birds, which digest the sugar-rich scale and pass the hard seed undamaged in their droppings, so dispersing the seed far from the parent plant.

Location and distribution

Male cone of Cedar of Lebanon Larch cone with unusual branch growth from tip

For most species, male and female cones occur on the same plant (tree or shrub), with female usually on the higher branches towards the top of the plant. This distribution is thought to improve chances of cross-fertilization, as pollen is unlikely to be blown vertically upward within the crown of one plant, but can drift slowly upward in the wind, blowing from low on one plant to higher on another plant. In some conifers, male cones additionally often grow clustered in large numbers together, while female cones are more often produced singly or in only small clusters.

A further characteristic arrangement of pines is that the male cones are located at the base of the branch, while the female at the tip (of the same or a different branchlet). However, in larches and cedars, both types of cones are always at the tips of short shoots, while both sexes of fir cones are always from side buds, never terminal. There's also some diversity in bearing in Cupressaceae. Some, Cupressus for instance, has little or no differentiation in the positions of male and female cones.

Pseudocones

Developing Pineapple pseudocone galls on Norway Spruce. Pseudocone on Sitka Spruce

Norway and Sitka spruce are prone to the formation of Pineapple gall pseudocones caused by the woolly aphid, Adelges abietis. These are not cones, although they closely resemble them.

Alder trees are not even conifers, however the mature seed bearing structures closely resemble cones.

Cultural uses of cones

Because of their widespread occurrence, conifer cones have been a traditional part of the arts and crafts of cultures where conifers are common. Examples of their use includes seasonal wreaths and decorations, fire starters, bird feeders, toys, etc.^[3] An intriguing derivation of the impossible bottle mechanical puzzle takes advantage of the fact that pine cones open and close based on their level of dryness. In constructing the pine cone in the bottle display, a closed, damp cone of suitable size is inserted into a narrow-mouthed bottle and allowed to open upon drying.^[4]

Home-made pine cone cow

Cone cows are traditional homemade toys, made by children using material found in nature. The most common design is a spruce or pine cone with sticks or matches for legs, which can easily be attached by forcing them between the cone scales. Playing with cone cows often includes building an animal enclosure from sticks. For the most part, cone cows have been displaced by manufactured toys, at least in affluent countries, but the creation of cone cows still enjoys some popularity as an outdoor activity for children.

Cone cows are a part of children's culture in Finland where they are known as Käpylehmä (plural: Käpylehmät) and Sweden where they are known as kottkor or kottdjur (cone animals). Schools and other institutions teach children how to make cone cows as part of outdoors education on nature and history.

In Finland there is a fairground with cone cow sculptures large enough for children to ride on. In Sweden, a video game was released in which the player may build virtual cone cows.^[5] Swedish artist Lasse Åberg has created artwork with cone cows, which has been included in an alphabet book^[6] and featured on a Swedish postage stamp among other classic toys.^[7][8]

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