Out in the cold...

Having taken down the tree lights and decorations on Tuesday evening, my Christmas tree was still looking so beautiful I couldn't bring myself to chop it up to go in the recycling bin. So the tree is now sitting out on the patio, basking in today's Winter sunshine...

Some 'interesting' facts about Conifer cones:

"For most species, male and female cones occur on the same plant, 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.

A further 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." Wikipedia

So now we know! A small cluster of tiny budding female cones!!