Gymnosperm Cone

This is a picture of a pine cone from my back yard. This pine cone is  a gymnosperm cone, part of the reproduction process of the pine tree. A gymnosperm cone is the gametophyte of the plant. There is a difference between female gymnosperm cones and male ones. The female cones are usually larger and lower on the tree, while the male cones are smaller and farther up in the branches. They are arranged in this way because gravity is the main pollinator of the gymnosperm. The pollen producing male cones release the pollen to fall onto the seed generating female cones where the seed is then fertilized and released.