A cone (in formal botanical usage: strobilus, plural strobili) is an organ on plants in the division Pinophyta (conifers) that contains the reproductive structures. The familiar woody cone is the seed-producing female cone. The male cones, which produces pollen, are usually herbaceous and much less conspicuous even at full maturity. The name "cone" derives from the fact that the shape in some species resembles a geometric cone. Download high resolution version (612x726, 176 KB)cam-cordered myself Species is European Black Pine (Pinus nigra) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Botany is the scientific study of plant life. ... Divisions Green algae Land plants (embryophytes) Non-vascular embryophytes Hepatophyta - liverworts Anthocerophyta - hornworts Bryophyta - mosses Vascular plants (tracheophytes) Seedless vascular plants Lycopodiophyta - clubmosses Equisetophyta - horsetails Pteridophyta - true ferns Psilotophyta - whisk ferns Ophioglossophyta - adderstongues Seed plants (spermatophytes) †Pteridospermatophyta - seed ferns Pinophyta - conifers Cycadophyta - cycads Ginkgophyta - ginkgo Gnetophyta - gnetae Magnoliophyta - flowering plants... Orders & Families Cordaitales † Pinales   Pinaceae - Pine family   Araucariaceae - Araucaria family   Podocarpaceae - Yellow-wood family   Sciadopityaceae - Umbrella-pine family   Cupressaceae - Cypress family   Cephalotaxaceae - Plum-yew family   Taxaceae - Yew family Vojnovskyales † Voltziales † The conifers, division Pinophyta, are one of 13 or 14 division level taxa within the Kingdom Plantae. ... Orders & Families Cordaitales † Pinales   Pinaceae - Pine family   Araucariaceae - Araucaria family   Podocarpaceae - Yellow-wood family   Sciadopityaceae - Umbrella-pine family   Cupressaceae - Cypress family   Cephalotaxaceae - Plum-yew family   Taxaceae - Yew family Vojnovskyales † Voltziales † The conifers, division Pinophyta, are one of 13 or 14 division level taxa within the Kingdom Plantae. ... A SeeD is a term given to mercenaries trained and employed by Balamb Garden in the Final Fantasy VIII video game. ... SEM image of pollen grains from a variety of common plants: sunflower (Helianthus annuus), morning glory (Ipomea purpurea),hollyhock (Sildalcea malviflora), lily (Lilium auratum), primrose(Oenothera fruticosa), and castor bean (Ricinus communis). ... Geometry (from the Greek words Geo = earth and metro = measure) is the branch of mathematics first popularized in ancient Greek culture by Thales (circa 624-547 BC) dealing with spatial relationships. ... A cone is a basic geometrical shape: see cone (geometry). ...

male cones of a pine

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 (pollen sacs). The photo (right) shows mature male pine cones shortly after pollen release. Download high resolution version (661x1144, 243 KB)cam-cordered myself File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Download high resolution version (661x1144, 243 KB)cam-cordered myself File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... SEM image of pollen grains from a variety of common plants: sunflower (Helianthus annuus), morning glory (Ipomea purpurea),hollyhock (Sildalcea malviflora), lily (Lilium auratum), primrose(Oenothera fruticosa), and castor bean (Ricinus communis). ... A sporangium (pl. ... Species About 115. ...

The female cone (megastrobilus, seed cone, or ovulate 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, in as much as seeing the foliage alone may be insufficient to differentiate between closely related species. Structure found in seed plants that develops into a seed after fertilization. ...

Female cones of the conifer families

Pinaceae cones

Intact and disintegrated fir cones

Immature female pine cone

The members of the pine family (pines, spruces, firs, cedars, larches, etc) have cones that are imbricate with scales overlapping each other like fish-scales. These are the "archetypal" cone. The scales are spirally arranged in fibonacci number ratios. Download high resolution version (563x785, 55 KB)This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons, a repository of free content hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation. ... Download high resolution version (563x785, 55 KB)This is a file from the Wikimedia Commons, a repository of free content hosted by the Wikimedia Foundation. ... cam-cordered myself File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... cam-cordered myself File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Genera Subfamily Pinoideae     Pinus - pines (about 115 species) Subfamily Piceoideae     Picea - spruces (about 35 species) Subfamily Laricoideae     Cathaya (one species)     Larix - larches (about 14 species)     Pseudotsuga - douglas-firs (five species) Subfamily Abietoideae     Abies - firs (about 50 species)     Cedrus - cedars (two to four species)     Pseudolarix - golden larch (one species)     Keteleeria (three... Species About 115. ... Species About 35; see text. ... Species See text. ... Species Cedrus deodara Cedrus libani    var. ... Species About 12; see text Larches are conifers in the genus Larix, in the family Pinaceae. ... In mathematics, the Fibonacci numbers form a sequence defined recursively by: In other words: one starts with 0 and 1, and then produces the next Fibonacci number by adding the two previous Fibonacci numbers. ...

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) by the cones disintegrating with the seed scales falling off. The cones are conic, cylindrical or ovoid (egg-shaped), and small to very large, from 2-60 cm long and 1-20 cm broad. Species See text. ... Species Cedrus deodara Cedrus libani    var. ... Binomial name Pseudolarix amabilis (Nelson) Rehder Pseudolarix is a monotypic genus in the family Pinaceae. ... A cone is a basic geometrical shape: see cone (geometry). ... The word cylinder has several meanings. ... An oval or ovoid was originally an egg shape (from Latin OVVM); it is now usually used to refer to ellipses, but can also mean any similar shape, such as egg shapes or race-course shapes (a semicircle on either side of a quadrilateral). ...

Araucariaceae cones

Members of the Araucariaceae (Araucaria, Agathis, Wollemia) 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. Genera Agathis Araucaria Wollemia The Araucariaceae are a very ancient family of conifers. ... Species See text Araucaria is a genus of coniferous trees in the family Araucariaceae. ... Species See text The genus Agathis, commonly known as kauri or dammar forms a relatively small group of 21 species of evergreen trees in the family Araucariaceae, characteristically with very large trunks and little or no branching for some way up. ... Binomial name Wollemia nobilis W.G.Jones, K.D.Hill & J.M.Allen Wollemia nobilis is a remarkable coniferous tree that was discovered in 1994 in a remote series of narrow, steep-sided sandstone gorges in a mild temperate-zone rainforest wilderness area of the Wollemi National Park in New...

Podocarpaceae cones

The cones of the Podocarpaceae 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 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. Usually only one or two scales at the apex of the cone are fertile, each bearing a single wingless seed, but in Saxegothaea 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), 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 on a central stem. The seeds have a hard coat evolved to resist digestion in the bird's stomach, and is passed in the bird's droppings. Genera Acmopyle Afrocarpus Dacrycarpus Dacrydium Falcatifolium Halocarpus Lagarostrobos Lepidothamnus Manoao Microcachrys Microstrobos Nageia Parasitaxus Phyllocladus Podocarpus Prumnopitys Retrophyllum Saxegothaea Sundacarpus A large family of mainly Southern Hemisphere conifers, with 18-19 genera and about 170-200 species of evergreen trees and shrubs. ... Orders Many - see section below. ... Mature and immature arils of Taxus baccata, a European yew. ... species Saxegothaea is a genus of conifers belonging to the Podocarp family, Podocarpaceae. ... Species - Lleuque - Miro - Matai Prumnopitys is a genus of conifers belonging to the Podocarp family, Podocarpaceae. ... Genera Several, including: Prunus domestica Prunus insititia Prunus maritima Prunus salicina A plum is a stone-fruit tree in the genus Prunus. ...

Cupressaceae cones

Nootka Cypress cone

Giant Sequoia cones

Members of the cypress family (cypresses, arborvitae, junipers, redwoods, 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 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, while others, such as Western Redcedar, 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, Microbiota and Juniperus), the seeds are wingless, and in Juniperus, the cones are fleshy and berry-like. Menchis pic re-named with accurate name. ... Menchis pic re-named with accurate name. ... Binomial name Callitropsis nootkatensis (D. Don) Örsted Nootka Cypress (Callitropsis nootkatensis), formerly Cupressus nootkatensis, Xanthocyparis nootkatensis or Chamaecyparis nootkatensis, is a cypress (Cupressaceae) with a chequered taxonomic and nomenclatural history. ... Giant Sequoia cones from the North Calaveras Grove, measured in centimeters. ... Giant Sequoia cones from the North Calaveras Grove, measured in centimeters. ... Binomial name Sequoiadendron giganteum (Lindl. ... Genera Actinostrobus Athrotaxis Austrocedrus Callitris - Cypress-pine Callitropsis - Cypress * (Cupressus) Calocedrus - Incense-cedar Chamaecyparis - Cypress Cryptomeria - Sugi Cunninghamia - Cunninghamia Cupressus - Cypress Diselma - Diselma Fitzroya - Alerce Fokienia - Fujian Cypress Glyptostrobus - Chinese Swamp Cypress Juniperus - Juniper Libocedrus Metasequoia - Dawn Redwood Microbiota - Microbiota Neocallitropsis Papuacedrus * (Libocedrus) Pilgerodendron * (Libocedrus) Platycladus - Chinese Arborvitae Sequoia - Coast... Cypress is the name applied to many plants in the conifer family Cupressaceae (cypress family). ... Species Thuja koraiensis Thuja occidentalis Thuja plicata Thuja standishii Thuja sutchuenensis Thuja (pronounced Thuya) is a genus of coniferous trees in the Cupressaceae (cypress family). ... Species 50-55 species; see text. ... Redwood is a name used for several species of trees with wood with a red or reddish colour; see each species for individual details. ... Binomial name Callitropsis nootkatensis (D. Don) Örsted Nootka Cypress (Callitropsis nootkatensis), formerly Cupressus nootkatensis, Xanthocyparis nootkatensis or Chamaecyparis nootkatensis, is a cypress (Cupressaceae) with a chequered taxonomic and nomenclatural history. ... Species Thuja plicata Western Redcedar, Thuja plicata, a species of thuja, is an evergreen coniferous tree in the cypress family Cupressaceae, native to the northwestern US and southwestern Canada, from southern Alaska and British Columbia south to northwest California and inland to western Montana. ... Binomial name Platycladus orientalis Chinese Arborvitae, Platycladus orientalis, is a distinct species of evergreen coniferous tree in the cypress family Cupressaceae, native to northwestern China and widely naturalised elsewhere in east Asia. ... Binomial name Microbiota decussata Kom. ... Species 50-55 species; see text. ... Several types of berries from the market, but none of these are true berries. ...

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. Binomial name Sciadopitys verticillata The Koyamaki (Sciadopitys verticillata) or Japanese Umbrella-pine, is a unique conifer endemic to Japan. ...

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 ovule. The scale develops into a soft, brightly coloured sweet, juicy, berry-like aril which partly encloses the seed. The whole 'berry' with the seed is eaten by birds, which digest the sugar-rich scale and pass the hard seed in their droppings, so dispersing the seed far from the parent plant.
Yew cone (detail, enlarged) - photo User:MPF File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Yew cone (detail, enlarged) - photo User:MPF File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Species Taxus baccata - European Yew Taxus brevifolia - Pacific Yew Taxus canadensis - Canadian Yew Taxus chinensis - Chinese Yew Taxus cuspidata - Japanese Yew Taxus floridana - Florida Yew Taxus globosa - Mexican Yew Taxus sumatrana - Sumatran Yew Taxus wallichiana - Himalayan Yew Yews are small coniferous trees or shrubs in the genus Taxus in the... Genera Taxaceae sensu stricto Taxus Pseudotaxus Austrotaxus — Cephalotaxaceae Torreya Amentotaxus Cephalotaxus The family Taxaceae, commonly called the yew family, includes three genera and about 7 to 12 species of coniferous plants, or in other interpretations (see Classification, below), six genera and about 30 species. ... Genera Cephalotaxus Amentotaxus Torreya Species Cephalotaxus fortunei Cephalotaxus griffithii Cephalotaxus hainanensis Cephalotaxus harringtonia Cephalotaxus koreana Cephalotaxus lanceolata Cephalotaxus latifolia Cephalotaxus manni Cephalotaxus oliveri Cephalotaxus sinensis Cephalotaxus wilsoniana Amentotaxus argotaenia Amentotaxus assamica Amentotaxus formosana Amentotaxus poilanei Amentotaxus yunnanensis Torreya californica Torreya fargesii Torreya grandis Torreya jackii Torreya nucifera Torreya taxifolia The... Orders Many - see section below. ... A sugar is a carbohydrate which is sweet to taste. ...

Location and distribution

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. The coniferous Coast Redwood, the tallest tree species on earth A tree can be defined as a large, perennial, woody plant. ... A willow shrub A shrub or bush is a horticultural rather than strictly botanical category of woody plant, distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and lower height, usually less than 6 m tall. ...

Dozens of male cones (orange and flower-like) occur in a cluster; the female cone is still immature (olive green)

A further charateristic 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. On the contrary, both sexs 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. Download high resolution version (1900x1020, 448 KB)cam-cordered myself Place branch on a big white piece of paper until desk lamp (at night). ... Download high resolution version (1900x1020, 448 KB)cam-cordered myself Place branch on a big white piece of paper until desk lamp (at night). ... Species About 115. ... Species About 12; see text Larches are conifers in the genus Larix, in the family Pinaceae. ... Species Cedrus deodara Cedrus libani    var. ... Species See text. ... Species See text The genus Cupressus is one of several genera within the family Cupressaceae that have the common name cypress; for the others, see cypress (disambiguation). ...

External Link

• Arboretum de Villardebelle Images of various conifer-cones