Cones

Today in the lab I came across these old resin castings of different types of cones. I wish I had some of these in my house! So cool! Perhaps I will try to make some, although the cycads may be hard to find.

Cycad cones: young and mature male on the left and young and mature female cross section on the right.

Cycads are cone bearing gymnosperms that look similar to palm trees but aren't related.  They grow very slowly, live extremely long lives (1,000 years!), and are rarely seen in cultivation.  Their most fascinating quality is that they are considered to be living fossils and have changed very little since the Jurassic period. 

Pine cones: male to the left and 1st, 2nd, and 3rd year female to the right

Perhaps the most easily recognizable cones from the confer group are those of Pinus. Like the cycads above, the trees produce two cones: male and female. The male cones are composed of pollen, and the female cones carry the seeds.