The air bladders assist the pollen in being blown by the wind to a female cone. For reasons that need not concern us the ovuliferous scale is not equivalent to the megasporophyll. L.S. female cone L.S. ovuliferous scale . In the temperate regions, it takes a full 2 years for female cones to fully mature and release seeds. Reproduction Male cones are short-lived, shedding their pollen in spring, then withering and dying.
Female cones are long-lived.
Pollen grains sift down between the scales of the female cone and are drawn into the micropyle. A pollen tube forms and the generative cell divides. The single megaspore in each ovule divides initiating the female gametophyte. The female gametophyte continues to develop, forming archegonia, each with an egg cell. Pinus female gametophyte developing by free nuclear division.