First red pine cone .

[dgberg]

Lived here 32 years and this is the first red pine cone I have ever seen. Was my head in the sand all those years?
D800E w/ 200 F/2

[sdwilsonsct]

Hi Dan,
I think that is a cone that produces pollen. It will soon whither and fall off which is why they are not there for most of the year. On windy days in pine forests you can see yellow clouds of pollen.
The cones with seeds take 2-3 years to mature, and are the familiar brown cones. Large ones are always further in from the tip because the branch continues to grow outward while the cone matures.
Scott

[dgberg]

Thanks Scott.
Just found it strange I have never seen them before.
Of the 8 large trees I have only found 4 of these cones. All on the same tree.

[degrub]

if there are two different colors of cone on the tree, then one is male and the other female.
Do you know which type of pine ?

[wolfnowl]

It's actually a spruce.  Square needles, single, rotated around the stem.  Close though!

Mike.

[sdwilsonsct]

if there are two different colors of cone on the tree, then one is male and the other female.
Do you know which type of pine ?

AFAIK all (almost all?) conifers bear both male and female cones. Species can usually be identified by the size and arrangement of needles, habitat, and location.
Scott