Editing Conifer cone (section)

==Location and distribution==
[[File:Male cone of Cedar of Lebanon.JPG|thumb|Male cone of cedar of Lebanon]]
[[File:Larch with unusual terminal branch.JPG|thumb|left|Larch cone with unusual branch growth from tip]]
Most conifer species are [[monoecy|monoecious]], with male and female cones occur on the same plant ([[tree]] or [[shrub]]), with female usually on the higher branches towards the top of the plant. This distribution is thought to improve chances of [[cross-fertilization]], as pollen is unlikely to be blown vertically upward within the crown of one plant, but can drift slowly upward in the wind, blowing from low on one plant to higher on another plant. In some conifers, male cones additionally often grow clustered in large numbers together, while female cones are more often produced singly or in only small clusters. Some, such as ''[[Araucaria araucana]]'' and ''[[Taxus baccata]]'', are [[dioecy|dioecious]], with the male and female cones usually on separate trees, but even in normally dioecious species, scattered individuals may produce cones of both sexes, or change which sex cones they produce over time.<ref name="Rushforth"/> Some pines, notably ''[[Pinus discolor]]'', are subdioecious, with individuals producing cones of both sexes, but with each tree producing either predominantly male, or predominantly female, cones, and only a few of the other sex.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=McCormick |first1=Jack |last2=Andresen |first2=John W. |title=A Subdioecioius Population of Pinus cembroides in Southeast Arizona |journal=Ohio Journal of Science |date=1963 |volume=63 |issue=4 |pages=159–163}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1=Bailey | first1=D. K. | last2=Hawksworth | first2=F. W. | title=Pinyons of the Chihuahuan Desert Region |journal=Phytologia | volume=44 |pages=129–133 | date=1979 | issn=0031-9430 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/13044791 | access-date=2025-02-12}}</ref>

A characteristic arrangement of pines is that the male cones are located at the base of the branch, while the female at the tip (of the same or a different branchlet). However, in larches and cedars, both types of cones are always at the tips of short shoots, while both sexes of fir cones are always from side buds, never terminal. There is also some diversity in bearing in Cupressaceae. Some ''[[Cupressus]]'' for instance, have little or no differentiation in the positions of male and female cones.
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===Crop potential===
Cone crop potential can be predicted in various ways. An early indication of a potential crop can be a period of abnormally hot, dry weather at the time of bud differentiation, particularly if the current and preceding cone crops have been poor (Nienstaedt and Zasada 1990).<ref name="nien5">{{Silvics |last1=Nienstaedt |first1=Hans |first2=John C. |last2=Zasada |volume=1 |genus=Picea |species=glauca}}</ref> Estimates of cone crop potential can be made by counting female reproductive buds in fall or winter, and an experienced observer can detect the subtle morphological differences and distinguish between reproductive buds and vegetative buds (Eis 1967b).<ref name="eis2">Eis, S. 1967b. Cone crops of white and black spruce are predictable. For. Chron. 43(3):247–252.</ref>

White spruce seed collection is expensive, and collection from cone caches of [[red squirrel]]s is probably the cheapest method. The viability of seed from cached cones does not vary during current caching, but viability drops essentially to zero after being in caches for 1 or 2 years.<ref name="wagg">Wagg, J.W.B. 1964. Viability of white spruce seed from squirrel-cut cones. For. Chron. 40(1):98–110.</ref> Collection of cones in seed orchards has been facilitated by the counter-intuitive technique of "topping" and collection of cones from the severed crown tops at one-third the cost of collection from untopped trees and without decreasing cone production.<ref name="slay">Slayton, S.H. 1969. A new technique for cone collection. USDA, For. Serv., Tree Plant. Notes 20(3):13. (Cited in Nienstaedt and Zasada 1990).</ref><ref name="nien1">Nienstaedt, H. 1981. Top pruning white spruce seed orchard grafts does not reduce cone production. USDA, For. Serv., Tree Plant. Notes 32(2):9–13. (Cited in Coates et al. 1994).</ref>