Complex sentence: The cones are slender, long and broad, with 8 to 12 (rarely 14) thin, overlapping scales; they are green to yellow-green, ripening brown in fall about six months after pollination, and open at maturity to shed the seeds.
Split into simpler sentences: The cones are slender, long, and broad, with 8 to 12 (rarely 14) thin, overlapping scales. They are green to yellow-green, ripening brown in fall about six months after pollination, and open at maturity to shed the seeds.