Cones are reproductive structures of the sporophyte generation that consist of several scale like sporophylls arranged about a central axis. Sporophylls, also present in ferns and their allies, are modified leaves specialized for reproduction. Sporophylls bear spores. In conifers, sporophylls of male cones are called microsporophylls. On the surface of each microsporophyll is a layer of cells called microsporangium that produces spores.
Male cones are small and similar in all conifers.
Pollination and Seed Formation in Pine Pollination is the transfer of pollen to a receptive surface. Pollen grains released in late spring are carried by wind to ovulate cones, in which pollen sifts through the ovuliferous scales and sticks in a drop of resin at the micropylar end of an ovule. The pollen grain then germinates and grows a tube into the archegonium, where it releases its two nonmotile sperm nuclei. The zygote, while in the ovule, develops into the embryo of a new sporophyte. The evolution of seeds is one of the most significant events in the history of the plant kingdom.