Pinaceae

Abies lasiocarpa

 

PINACEAE

Spreng. ex F.Rudolghi

pronounced: py-NAY-see-eye

the pine family

Pinus is Latin for a pine tree. Members of the family are trees (rarely shrubs), conifers, growing from 2  - 100 m tall, mostly evergreen, resinous and dioecious, found almost entirely in the northern hemisphere. The branches are sub-opposite or whorled, and the needle-like leaves are spirally arranged. The female cones are large and woody, with many spirally arranged scales, and 2 winged seeds on each scale. The male cones are small, also with many spirally arranged scales, each bearing 2 pollen sacs, and fall soon after pollination; pollen dispersal is by wind. Seed dispersal is mostly by wind, but some species have larger seeds with much smaller wings, and these are dispersed by birds, or in some cases by squirrels.

 


Photograph by Walter Siegmund, via Wikimedia Commons