Many native plants and trees have finished their assigned annual task in the closing days of 2023 and are now in a state of rest. Their ultimate job is to produce seeds which will hopefully continue the species.
While a majority of the seeds are small and easily overlooked, there is one “seed pack” which is known to all who venture into the environment beyond their front door. Strobili, as pinecones are botanically termed, are suspended in the branches of pines across north Florida and the remainder of the country where this family of useful trees grows.
These drying husks begin their existence in the spring when the pines flower. Small and easily missed, pine blooms, also identified as male cones, tint the region yellow with a profuse volume of pollen.
The golden dusting covers vehicles, broadleaf plants and most any stationary object. Those who suffer from hay fever are all too aware of the wind driven pollen as sneezing and itchy eyes result.
Local pines are full of open cones which are slowly distributing seeds to the area. Some will produce pine trees for the future, but most will be used in other ways.
One important benefit of this display of arboreal excess is the almost certain assurance of female cone pollination. Some of the easily blown genetic material has every opportunity in the shifting spring winds of landing at a strategic location.
As the air clears, the slow growth and development of the seed baring cones proceeds. Once the male cones have fulfilled their purpose, they dry up and drop off.
2023 was a good year for pinecone production with ample rain and acceptable temperatures. The cones grew and developed through the summer and autumn, remaining green and tightly closed.
Seeds within the cones are nourished and protected under the hard fibrous coating of the cones. Heavy with sap and resin, the cones have little dietary appeal to most creatures, with one notable exception.
Squirrels, the ubiquitous rodent species with a bushy tail and the ability to climb to the tops of trees, have teeth which grow throughout their life. They must constantly use their front teeth to gnaw on tough surfaces as a means to maintain proper tooth length.
Green pinecones are a handy size for these agile climbers in search of a tool to maintain their dental health. Additionally, seeds of sufficient size may be found beneath the layers of cellulose strands and consumed.
It is worth noting that hickory nuts and other natural and man-made amalgams will suffice in the absence of pinecones. The materials just have to be hard enough to wear down the squirrel’s teeth.
As autumn sets in and the nutrient flow to the pinecones slows, the cones begin to dry and open. Each seed held between two scales is exposed to desiccate in the fall’s lower humidity.
A single wing-like membrane attached to the seed also dries. It separates from the cone and awaits a breeze to separate it and the seed from the cone.
The seeds flitter to ground over the weeks of late autumn and early winter. Some find their way to a hospitable growing site, but most do not and become a food source for birds and animals.
The cones eventually drop to the forest floor and degrade. They have completed their annual assignment and it is time for a rest for a few weeks.
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