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I have been wanting to make this Christmas tree craft made from a pine cone with the kids and while collecting pine cones I was thinking about something I read about pine cones. I read that pine cones are open when it is dry outside but close up when it is damp or wet. I was curious if that was true or not and decided to look into it and found out it is true!

Why do pine cones close up when wet?

Since pine cones are the way pine trees disperse their seeds, pine cones have adapted to disperse their seeds in more favorable conditions. When the weather is dry the plant cells in the cones’ scales shrink causing the scales to open allowing the seeds to catch in the wind and widely disperse or allow birds and animals to eat them. The seeds in the first pine cone I disassembled had a papery wing attached to the seed. This wing would help the seed to catch in the wind giving it a larger dispersal range. The second pine cone I disassembled had a pine nut. When the pine cone is ready to disperse these seeds the spines fully open allowing birds and animals room to eat the pine nuts.

When the conditions are not good for seed dispersal, such as rainy days. The plant cells in the cones expand, closing the scales and not allowing the seeds to drop or be collected by animals. Rainy days are not ideal conditions because the seeds would not have the opportunity to travel much distance. The papery wings would get wet and could not fly very well. The cones with pine nuts can take up to 18 months to reach maturity, so you don’t want animals and birds eating the pine nuts too soon.

It is really amazing at how fast the pine cone can close its scales. If you have an opened pine cone, try running cold water over it and see how fast the scales close. Warm water works as well but cold water just works faster. You will be able to watch the pine cone close almost instantly!

• Interesting fact: Did you know that the Knob Cone Pine has the hardest pine cone in the world! Its closed cone is so strong that it requires the heat from wildfires to open the cone for seed dispersal.

There are different kinds of pine seeds

Before I disassembled the above mentioned pine cones, I did not realize there were different types of pine tree seeds. After some thought about the pine trees in our yard I realized that we have two types of pines and each type has a different seed. I have know idea what varieties of pine trees we have because the trees were fully mature when we moved in. My best guess is that one variety we have is an Aleppo pine. After some google searches I think that our smaller pine cones are going to be the Aleppo. These smaller cones have small seeds with the papery wings.

Our other variety of pine tree has large pine cones and these cones have the pine nuts. I don’t think they are large enough to be worthwhile for harvesting the pine nuts for eating but it is interesting to see the two different types of pine seeds.

Did you know parts of the pine cone are edible?

Pine nuts are a part of the pine seeds and are edible. There are 20 varieties of pine trees worldwide that produce pine nuts big enough for harvesting.

• Interesting facts:
  • Italians have been enjoying pine nuts since the middle ages in pesto, torta della nonna and pignoli cookies. 
  • Pinyon (pine) nuts have been a part of the Native Americans diet for over 2,000 years. Harvesting began in fall followed by roasting and storage for winter.
  • Pine nut shells have been discovered in Greek and Roman ruins.
  • Pine nuts are not actually nuts but are seeds.

Other edible parts of the pine cone are the male pine cones. Yes there are male and female pine cones. The female pine cones are the ones we are most familiar with. The male pine cones are smaller, softer and produce pollen. These male pine cones can be boiled, baked and eaten when they are young and tender. 

• People are not the only ones who enjoy eating pine nuts. Birds such as woodpeckers and crossbills, squirrels, deer, woodrats, pinyon mice and even porcupines are known to enjoy pine nuts but there is another animal that has enjoyed munching on this cone shaped snack, dinosaurs! Scientists have revealed that some dinosaurs such as Parasaurolophus have uniquely formed jaws adapted for eating the tough and chewy pine cones of the Cretaceous marshland pine forest.

What are some other interesting facts?

Do we have a pine cone in our brain? As silly as that sounds, we actually kind of do. The Pineal Gland is named after pine cones because of its shape. This important little gland is in the center of our brain, it governs our bodies perception of light as well as our sleep/wake patterns and receives more blood flow than any other part of our body. This gland is considered our “third eye” and the “epicenter of enlightenment,” which some believe is why pine cones have been included in religious symbolism for thousands of years.

Does the pine cone have religious references? Yes, it does. Throughout history the pine cone has been used as a symbol for the third eye, intuition or enlightenment.

• The Mayan God, Chicomecoati, is depicted having an offering of pine cones in one hand and an evergreen tree in the other hand.
• The Egyptian God of the Dead, Osiris, is depicted with a staff of two intertwining serpents rising up to meet a pine cone.
• The Greek God of Wine and Pleasure, Dionysus, carried a staff topped with a pine cone.
• Celtic religions believed the pine cone would promote fertility by having women placing pine cones under their pillows.
• Today, our Pope’s sacred papal staffs all feature a pine cone at the top and in St. Peter’s in the Vatican City there is a three story tall pine cone bronze sculpture called, “The Court of the Pine Cone.”

• The largest pine cone is called the widowmaker from the Coulter pine. It is called the widowmaker from old time loggers because the cones measure 8-10” and weigh over 10 pounds! Their pine nuts are edible.
• The smallest pine cone is from the Canadian or Eastern Hemlock. The cones measure around 1” and are one of the heaviest producers of cones. The trees do not start producing cones until they are 20-40 years old.
• The longest pine cone is from the Sugar Pine. These cones can measure 24” or longer and the pine nuts are edible. The Sugar Pine received its name from its sweet sap that Native Americans chewed as gum. Sugar pines are also one of the tallest pines measuring at 280’.
• Pine nuts from the Pinyon pine are said to be the tastiest. Pinyon pines are the only “one” needle pine trees in the world. Most pine trees have clusters of needles in groups of three to five.
• Pine cones have their very own festival in Running Springs, California. Check out their website for more interesting facts and information to attend the festival next year at the Pine Cone Festival.

Bonus: Pine Cone Christmas Tree Craft

Okay, now that we have all this information rattling around in our brain about pine cones, let’s make this fun and easy craft.

Supplies needed:

• Pine cones
• Spray paint
• 2″ Terracotta pots
• Hot glue and hot glue gun
• Paints (paid link)
• Decorations
  • Pom poms (paid link)
  • Foam stars (paid link)
• Painters palette
• Elmer’s glue

Let’s get started making our pine cone Christmas trees!

The kids and I really enjoyed making these trees. I just love how the pine cones look like little Christmas trees and each one is completely unique.

I sure hope you enjoyed learning about pine cones with me. I never knew there was so much history and information about pine cones.

Happy desert gardening and crafting!

Joy Simper has a full time job as a home schooling stay at home mom. She is the one that holds the house and yard together and keeps the kids in line. She enjoys gardening, including seed starting and propagating plants.