bartholomewkelly
UNCW Pine Cone
This pine cone stuck out to me on my way to Bluethenthal Wildflower Preserve on the afternoon of January 29. It is a female pine cone from a long leaf pine, Pinus palustris, which is a common gymnosperm in the southeastern US, it is especially common on campus. This pine cone was sitting by itself near the university apartments. This tree is monoecious or hermaphroditic meaning it has both male and female reproductive organs on the same individual. Pictured in this photograph is the female reproductive organ which looks like a characteristic pine cone with a hard, bark-like texture with rectangular, curved scales radiating from the center. The male pine cone is soft, flexible, cylindrical, smaller, and orange in color. Both pine cones play important roles in the plant's reproductive cycle: the male pine cone releases pollen relying on environmental factors, namely wind or animals, to lead them to the female cones. Females cones protect the seeds as they mature and will eventually open and release them. Once released, the seeds can rely on many different environmental factors to disperse them such as wind, water, and animals. Dispersion is also a role the female pine cone itself plays as it often bounces and rolls away after falling from a tree and can be further moved by other organisms, such as being kicked around by UNCW students. Dispersing seeds is important because it prevents or reduces the competition between parent and offspring for resources such as light, water, or space.
UNCW Pine Cone
This pine cone stuck out to me on my way to Bluethenthal Wildflower Preserve on the afternoon of January 29. It is a female pine cone from a long leaf pine, Pinus palustris, which is a common gymnosperm in the southeastern US, it is especially common on campus. This pine cone was sitting by itself near the university apartments. This tree is monoecious or hermaphroditic meaning it has both male and female reproductive organs on the same individual. Pictured in this photograph is the female reproductive organ which looks like a characteristic pine cone with a hard, bark-like texture with rectangular, curved scales radiating from the center. The male pine cone is soft, flexible, cylindrical, smaller, and orange in color. Both pine cones play important roles in the plant's reproductive cycle: the male pine cone releases pollen relying on environmental factors, namely wind or animals, to lead them to the female cones. Females cones protect the seeds as they mature and will eventually open and release them. Once released, the seeds can rely on many different environmental factors to disperse them such as wind, water, and animals. Dispersion is also a role the female pine cone itself plays as it often bounces and rolls away after falling from a tree and can be further moved by other organisms, such as being kicked around by UNCW students. Dispersing seeds is important because it prevents or reduces the competition between parent and offspring for resources such as light, water, or space.