Pollen cone

A pollen cone is a small conifer reproductive structure that produces and releases pollen grains. Its scales bear pollen-producing microsporangia.

Microsporangium: A spore-producing structure in plants that generates spores within a protective chamber. Pollen grains develop inside the microsporangia borne on pollen-cone scales.
Microsporophyll: A pollen-bearing leaflike structure in a seed plant, often arranged in a cone. Microsporophylls carry the microsporangia that produce pollen.
Pine: A genus of evergreen conifers bearing needle-shaped leaves and woody seed cones. Pines commonly bear clusters of small pollen cones on new shoots.
Seed cone: A conifer reproductive structure bearing ovules that can develop into seeds. It is the female counterpart to the pollen-producing cone.
Microsporogenesis: The process by which diploid microsporocytes undergo meiosis to produce haploid microspores. It produces the microspores that develop into pollen grains in the cone.
Microspore: A haploid spore that develops into the male gametophyte of a seed plant. Each pollen grain develops from a microspore formed inside the cone.
Spruce: A genus of evergreen conifers with needlelike leaves attached individually to their branches. Spruce pollen cones provide a familiar example of seasonal conifer reproduction.
Flower: The reproductive structure of angiosperms, typically comprising organs for pollen production and ovule development. Flowers produce pollen too, but are not conifer cones.
Pollen grain: A microscopic structure containing the male gametophyte of seed plants. These grains are the reproductive units released by the cone.
Male gametophyte: The haploid pollen-contained generation that produces or delivers male gametes in seed plants. The cone produces pollen grains that contain this generation.

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