Seed coneThe female cone, whose scales protect the seeds while they ripen. In most pines that takes until the second year.
Pollen coneThe male cone, whose pollen blows away on the wind. The cone falls off soon afterward.
Cut open, and one scale 6
AxisEvery scale is attached to it.
ScaleEach scale carries two seeds on its upper side. The scales spread apart when the cone is dry and close again when it is wet.
SeedA pine seed is not shut inside a fruit. It lies bare on the scale, which is why pines belong to the gymnosperms, the plants with naked seeds.
Seed wingIt lets the wind carry the seed away from the tree. That happens when the cone opens.
ApophysisThe part of the scale still showing when the cone is closed.
UmboIt is what the scale grew in its first year. The rest of the apophysis grew in the second. On some pines it ends in a sharp prickle.
How this list was compiled: Every name and detail checked on 2026-09-30, a name kept only where two of these use it: (1) USDA Forest Service, Woody Plant Seed Manual, Pinus, https://www.fs.usda.gov/nsl/Wpsm/Pinus.pdf (male and female strobili; male strobili in clusters that fall soon after ripening; mature cones of overlapping woody scales, each bearing two seeds at the base on its upper surface; the cone axis; winged seeds; cones and seeds of most pines maturing in the second year; cones opening on the tree and shedding their seeds); (2) Wikipedia, Cone (botany), text only, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cone_(botany) (scales arranged around a central axis; the woody female cone and the pollen-making male cone; seed scales that enclose and protect the seeds; umbo and apophysis as the first and second year's growth; cones open when dry and closed when wet; windborne seeds); (3) Harlow and Harrar's Textbook of Dendrology, ninth edition, McGraw-Hill, 2000, searched in full text at https://archive.org/details/harlowharrarstex0000hard (apophysis, umbo and prickle; seed cones and pollen cones; cone scales on a central axis); (4) OpenStax, Biology 2e, section 26.2 Gymnosperms, https://openstax.org/books/biology-2e/pages/26-2-gymnosperms (naked seeds; small male cones and larger female cones; pollen carried by wind). Licence: own work
The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; nothing traced. Not to scale. Licence: own work
How it works
The parts of a pine cone are few: woody scales set around a central axis, with two winged seeds on each scale. A pine also grows small pollen cones.
Read the full guide
On the branch
A pine tree grows two kinds of cone. The large woody one is the seed cone. The small soft ones clustered near the tip of a shoot are pollen cones, which drop off once their pollen has blown away.
Cut open, and one scale
Cut lengthwise, the seed cone shows its axis with the scales attached along it. The enlarged scale is seen from its upper side: two seeds lie at the narrow end, each with a wing. The thick outer end is the apophysis, and the bump on it is the umbo.
A ripe cone spreads its scales when it is dry and closes them when it is wet.
Umbo first, apophysis second: that is the order in which the end of a scale grows.
Questions and answers
What are the parts of a pinecone?
A woody seed cone has a central axis and overlapping scales. Each scale carries two seeds, each with a wing, on its upper side. The thick outer end of a scale is the apophysis, and the bump on it is the umbo.
What are the scales on a pine cone for?
They enclose and protect the seeds while they ripen. When the ripe cone dries, the scales spread apart and the winged seeds fall out and blow away. In wet weather the scales close again.
What is the difference between a male and a female pine cone?
The female cone, or seed cone, is the large woody one that holds the seeds. The male cone, or pollen cone, is small and soft, grows in clusters, and falls off soon after it sheds its pollen.
Where are the seeds in a pine cone?
At the base of each scale, on its upper side, two to a scale. Each seed has a thin wing. In most pines the cone opens on the tree and sheds its seeds before the cone itself falls.