Cone

noun

(Gr. kônos: cone) In gymnosperms and club-mosses, a group of sporophylls arranged compactly on a central axis; (loosely) in Casuarina, a woody multiple fruit incorporating the bracts and bracteoles associated with the flowers. A reproductive structure occurring in gymnosperms, known technically as a strobilus. It consists of sporophylls bearing the spore-producing sporangia. Gymnosperms produce different male and female cones. The large woody female cones of pines, firs, and other conifers are made up of structures called ovuliferous scales, which bear the ovules. Cones are also produced by clubmosses and horsetails.