Megaspores occur in femlae cones and form femal gametophytes. Gametophytes of gymnosperms are microscopic and completely dependent on the large, free-living sporophyte. The last of these, the Gnetophyta, id discussed only briefly here because the phylum consists of a few rare genera. 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.