Pine Cone Anatomy

Pine cones herein referring only to the true female cones have a peduncle stem which attaches to the branch usually the upper branches of the tree and this continues through the entire length of the cone as the rachis axis. Wood young dwarf shoot old dwarf shoot and needle stain them separately in a safranin fast green combination mount in glycerine and study.

Biol 2p93 Lecture Notes Lecture 23 Archegonium Pollen Tube Pollination

Pine trees are only one of the conifer or cone bearing plants.

Pine cone anatomy. These pine cones especially the woody female cones are considered the archetypal tree cones. The female cone has two types of scale. Pine cones like the reproductive organs of other conifers come in male and female varieties.

These sediments are about 130 million years old ryberg et al. Students should first dissect the male cone. A picture of pine showing placement of both male and female cones.

Then students should dissect the female cone. The female pine cone or megastrobilus produces the ovule or unfertilized seed. Multiple cone scales arise along the length of the rachis in a helical fashion to give the cone most its mass and characteristic external appearance.

The cone a distinguishing feature of pines and other conifers is also found on all gymnosperms on some club mosses and on horsetails. Others include cedars firs cypresses and redwoods. See pine cone comparison for more specific instructions while dissecting students should consider the following questions and write their responses in their lab notebook.

Male pine cones have close knit scales that hold pollen sacks the pollen acting as air borne sperm female pine cones have looser scales and lie lower on a tree to make pollination easier. Anatomy of different parts of pinus. Cone also called strobilus in botany mass of scales or bracts usually ovate in shape containing the reproductive organs of certain nonflowering plants.

A comparable ancient fossil pine is pinus yorkshirensis documented from a fossil cone preserved in the wealden formation in yorkshire uk. Scales modified leaves on the female cone open to receive pollen then close. The individual plates of a cone are known as scales.

Cut thin sections of different parts of the plant young root old root young long shoot old long shoot tls. Pines include two subgenera the typical pines in subgenus pinus and the white pines in subgenus strobus. A pine cone is an organ of the pine tree containing its reproductive structures.

The bract scales and the seed scales or ovuliferous scales one subtended by each bract scale derived from a highly modified branchlet. After ripening the opening of pine cones is associated with their moisture content cones are open when dry and closed when wet. Scales modified leaves on the female cone open to receive pollen then close.

Much like humans coniferous trees have specialized male and female sex organs.

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