A guide to cones of the Pacific Northwest

During holiday decorating and throughout winter, cones show up misplaced, gathered and hung on trees where they never grew. A coffee house near me has hung Western white pine cones (Pinus monticola) on a Douglas fir. The effect is intriguing but disorienting.

The grocery store offers bags of Ponderosa cones, woody and prickly, dipped in artificial cinnamon scent for fires. Pinus ponderosa grows in Eastern Washington but seldom here, which brings up the odd possibility that cones travel as much at the holidays as families do.

Living in the Pacific Northwest, we're blessed with native conifers, populations that once thrived worldwide but now confine themselves to limited regions, including Western North America. Getting to know the locals is easier when you can recognize the cones. And as noted, they might not be the components of decorative wreaths and swags, because the most common native cones are either rather soft and don't keep well or, if huge and sturdy like those of mature Noble fir (Abies procera), seldom found in garden situations.

Winter's a fine season to observe cones. Ancient, many still carrying characteristics developed in the Mesozoic era, conifers are non-flowering "gymnosperms" for "naked seed." They're pollinated by wind rather than insects or animals, and if you've stood in showers of yellow pollen (often in late winter), you know they produce it in abundance. For many species, such as Western white pine, pollen grains must make contact with a sticky liquid on an embryonic cone smaller than a centimeter.

Shore pine (Pinus contorta) provide helpful decorations if you find a mature and prolific tree. Also known as lodgepole pine, it's easy to identify by the two-needle bundles (pines have various numbers of needles bound together in little fasicles). This is the only native two-needle pine, and it carries distinct, sturdy cones about 3 inches long, persisting on the tree for several seasons.

The native Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) bears cones both charming and easy to identify. Between 2 and 3 inches in length, they carry bracts tucked in between the scales, often described for children as "the tail of the mouse" disappearing into the cone. (The mouse would have to be lying very flat on his belly with his feet stretched out parallel to his tail, since it most resembles a tail between two feet.)

Douglas fir cones, like most, ripen seeds and open in late summer or fall. If you watch these trees in June, you'll see the deep, chartreuse unripe cones, tightly fastened together and dripping sap.

A tiny dollhouse cone, incongruous for such a large tree, marks Western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla). Less than 1 inch long, in perfect oval "cone" shapes, they drop liberally and can be gathered easily. Just as children like to gather acorns, the "play" effect of hemlock cones entices.

An even less prominent seed-case grows on Western cedar (Thuja plicata), the great tree of old-growth forests and native history. The cone is a loose bundle of eight to 12 scales, looking as if they're tied together at the base. The tree produces huge quantities of these, but they aren't showy. The tree, however, is.

To check out many different types of conifers in one spot, visit the Washington Park Arboretum in Seattle. For the ultimate cone thrill, head down to California (Yosemite National Park, for instance) and find a sugar pine (Pinus Lambertiana), which bears cones reaching 20 to 30 inches long!

Mary Robson is area horticulture agent for Washington State University/King County Cooperative Extension. She shares gardening tips every Wednesday. Her e-mail is gardeningtips@seattletimes.com