Page 8 - North Haven Magazine Issue 21 Holiday 2021

T Thehe P PeRfecTeRfecT

P Pineconeinecone

holds The Promise of a Tree

by Sally Brockett Moist cone with scales open Dry cone with scales closed

inecone is a commonly used term for many types of conifer cones, whether they grow on a pine tree, fir tree, cedar tree, or spruce tree.
PThe holiday season is a fun time to explore activities with pinecones and learn fascinating information about them. Of course, you are
probably familiar with the pinecone bird feeder coated with peanut butter and birdseed, or pinecones decorated with white spray paint
and glitter to hang on the tree. But there are other ways to experiment with pinecones that create great learning activities for young and
old! Let’s take a closer look at pinecones to learn more and have some fun with them.
Pinecones come in a wide vaRieTy of sizes.
The heaviest pinecones grow on the rare Coulter Pine trees in the
coastal mountains of Southern California and may weigh up to 11
pounds. The Sugar pine tree produces some of the longest pine-
cones, which may reach 20 inches. These trees grow throughout
the mountains of the North American Pacific Coast. Foresters
wear helmets when working in trees bearing such large and heavy
pinecones. These workers have a healthy respect for the pinecones,
which they refer to as “widow makers”.

You might be wondering about the pinecones growing on the red-
wood trees. Surprisingly, these are among the smallest cones! They
may be only one inch long, and the seed within the cone is the size Fir tree blue cone
of a grain of rice. The size of the pinecone does not determine the
size of the tree. grow if the entire cone is planted in the ground. The seeds must
be released from the protective scale when at the perfect stage of
wheRe aRe The Pine TRee seeds hidden? ripeness, and that only occurs under the right environmental con-
Pinecones are either pollen cones (male) or seed cones (female) ditions. To start a tree from seed, you need to harvest a pinecone
and usually most tree species have both sexes on each tree. The from a local tree in the fall. The cone must dry enough for the seeds
seeds are under the scales on the female cones, making it difficult to be released.
for animals (and humans) to access them. One cone produces
about 2 seeds under each scale. When the environmental condi- sTaRTing a TRee fRom The seed.
tions are exactly right, the seeds will be released from the scales Once released, the seed needs a period of cold to simulate winter.
and fall to the ground. Placing them in the refrigerator for 3 months will provide the nec-
essary cold. Then the seed can be planted in a small pot and cov-
When the air is humid, the outside of the pinecone scale absorbs ered with only ¼ inch of potting mix. The seed must have sunlight
moisture, and the outer cells expand. That bends the scale inwards to germinate so do not plant it deeply in the soil. Place the pot in
towards the core to close the pinecone. When the air is dry, the the sun and keep evenly moist. More detailed directions are neces-
cells on the outer surface of the scale shrink, bending the scale out- sary for success so look at several websites on the Internet to avoid
wards to open the cone and release the seeds. errors and disappointment. You will find variation in directions, so
be open to experiment and see what works for you!
exPeRimenT wiTh oPening and closing The Pinecone scales.
It is fun to explore this function of expansion and contraction of whaT is a Pine nuT?
the pinecone scale without the need to wait for the changes in the A pine nut (also called pignoli) is the edible seed of the pine tree.
weather. Find some pinecones that have fallen and follow this pro- They are commonly used in pesto and other dishes but are among
cedure to trigger them to open and close. If your pinecone scales the most expensive of the nuts. It can take 15-20 years before the
are already open, it will need moisture to close its scales. Place your pine tree is mature enough to produce pine nuts large enough to
pinecone in a bowl of water to provide the moisture. Watch and harvest. The seeds are often harvested by hand and then the seed
see how long it takes for the scales to close. If the scales are closed, must be removed from the cone, a difficult process because the
then the pinecone is moist and needs to dry out. You can place the pine nut is ready to harvest about 10 days before the cone begins to
pinecone in a warm oven (250° F) to let it dry for a while. Check open naturally. Once the pine nut is extracted from the cone, a sec-
periodically (15-30 min.) to see how the scales are opening. The ond shell must be removed by hand from the nut. All these factors
timing depends on how wet the cones are. For more details on the add up to make them expensive.
procedure, check Internet websites.
Pine nut syndrome, or pine nut mouth, may be experienced
can you gRow a TRee fRom The Pinecone? by some when eating pine nuts. Simply eating the pine nut may
Although the seeds are within the pinecone, they cannot begin to

8 North Haven Magazine - Holiday Issue 2021