Say you just picked up a pine cone on a nature hike. Did you know that very pine cone may have been hanging out in that tree for 10 years before falling down? Trees are never in a hurry. They grow gradually, and let seeds out slowly.

All coniferous trees—including spruces, pines, firs, and cedars—produce cones. (Coniferous = cones. Get it?) But pine cones come only from pine trees. And pine cones’ scales make them good for more than just winter ornaments. In cold weather, the scales close up to protect the seeds inside from wind, icy temperatures, and hungry critters.

Unlike many trees, pines don’t produce flowers or fruit. (Though the white pine cone is Maine’s state flower . . . even though it’s not technically a flower! And some cones do hold edible treasures used in fancy cooking—pine nuts.) Insects don’t pollinate pines. The large, hardy pine cones you recognize are females. Male cones are much smaller and don’t last very long. You may never have noticed them at all. The male pine cone produces pollen. Wind carries the pollen to a female cone on the same tree or on another tree. Seeds develop inside the female cone—but it takes a few years. When summer comes, these cones let seeds out into a warm world where they can drop into soil. The seeds often have wing-type structures. They float and flutter out away from the parent tree. They land a good distance from the shade of the parent tree where they can grow in sunlight.

Pine cones also act as barometers—weather predictors. Find a close-scaled pine cone on the forest floor? That means the forest is damp and safe from fires. Open scales warn: A wildfire could wipe this forest out. Did your pine trees produce extra cones this autumn? They may have been gearing up for a longer, more severe winter. Your pines will provide food for all those hungry squirrels and birds and have enough seeds left to make future pines.

Try It!

See for yourself what weather does to pine cones. You’ll need:

2 pine cones from outside

jar of water

baking tray

foil

spoon

measuring tape

paper and pencil

oven

Ask for an adult’s help to preheat the oven to 250 degrees. While the oven heats, fill the glass jar with cold water. Measure each pine cone in centimeters. Write down the length and circumference of each one. (Measure circumference at the widest point.) Place one pine cone (pine cone A) on a foil-covered tray and bake. Check every 10 minutes to make sure it doesn’t burn. Do you notice any changes in the pine cone as it gets hot?

Meanwhile, put the next pine cone (pine cone B) into the cold water. Use a spoon to hold it under for two minutes. Does it change while underwater? Remove the pine cone from the water. Measure its length and circumference again. Have the measurements changed?

After 45 minutes, take pine cone A out of the oven. Allow it to cool. Measure again.

Conclusions: In cold, damp conditions (the water jar), pine cone scales close. They are protecting the seeds inside. But dry heat makes the pine cone expand. The oven pine cone is responding to warm “weather”—perfect conditions for seeds to release and grow.