Conifer cone

A reproductive structure of conifers, composed of scales that bear pollen or ovules. Seed cones protect developing seeds, while pollen cones release pollen.

Conifer: A gymnosperm tree or shrub that usually bears needle- or scale-like leaves and seeds in cones. Conifer cones are the reproductive structures of this plant group.
Pollen cone: A usually small, short-lived conifer cone that produces and releases pollen. This cone type supplies the pollen used in conifer reproduction.
Pine cone: The woody seed cone of a pine, formed from overlapping scales around a central axis. Pine cones are familiar examples of woody seed cones.
Flower: The reproductive structure of an angiosperm, typically containing organs that produce gametes and attract pollinators. Flowers enclose ovules within carpels, unlike the exposed ovules of conifer cones.
Gymnosperm: A seed-producing plant whose ovules and seeds are not enclosed within an ovary. Conifers belong to this broader group, whose exposed ovules distinguish them from flowering plants.
Seed cone: A conifer cone whose scales bear ovules and later protect developing seeds. This cone type receives pollen and carries seeds through maturation.
Serotiny: The retention of mature seeds in a plant until an environmental trigger releases them. Some pine cones remain closed until heat from fire releases their seeds.
Angiosperm: A flowering plant whose seeds develop inside an ovary that becomes a fruit. Angiosperms enclose their seeds in fruits rather than bearing them on cone scales.
Ovule: A plant structure containing the female gametophyte that can develop into a seed after fertilization. Ovules form on seed-cone scales and become seeds after fertilization.
Ovuliferous scale: A scale in a conifer seed cone that bears one or more ovules on its upper surface. Its ovules occupy the cone’s reproductive surface.

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