• Pine cones that release their seeds in winter provide needed forage for wildlife in the snow.Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
  
  Pines are conifers, meaning they produce seeds in cones that are then released and dispersed by wind, birds, rodents and sometimes wildfires. There are more than 100 species of pine trees in the world with at least 35 cultivars native to North America. Pines are evergreen and are grown for lumber, Christmas trees and landscaping. Some cones grow as long as 2 feet and some, from the largest trees, are insignificant in appearance and only a few inches long.
  
  

Douglas Fir

• The Douglas fir is a native of the West Coast -- it's the state tree of Oregon -- although there are small stands of the trees on the East Coast. It is a giant, growing as high as 300 feet or more and eclipsing every other tree but the sequoia. The Douglas fir has an unusual cone with long, pointy three-pronged bracts, the modified leaves that grow amid the scales. The bracts make the tree and the cones easy to identify and inspired a Native American legend that the pointy bracts are really the legs and tail of a tiny mouse that hid in the welcoming tree during a forest fire. When the cones are still attached to the tree, they hang down rather than grow up as some pine cones do.
  
  

Ponderosa Pine

• The ponderosa pine evokes the romance of the cowboy. The Western tree, also known as the yellow pine, lives up to its theatrical name by being a tall, magnificent pine that can hit 200 feet and dominates the landscape. Its cones are not so impressive. They tend to be short and stubby, although the scales are plump and the shape of the cone is round and full. Each scale has a pointed tip just under the end that is fairly sharp and capable of scratching the unwary pine cone collector.
  
  

White Pine

• The white pine is also called the eastern white pine and is the tallest tree on the East Coast. Its cousin, the sugar pine, is the tallest pine tree in the world. The cones are equally massive. They are well-formed, wide and long, reddish-brown cones that grow up to 2 feet long. White pine cones are among the symmetrical cones used for holiday decorations in winter due to their attractive size and shape.
  
  

Scotch Pine

• The Scotch pine is a Christmas tree. It has an even, symmetrical shape and grows as a landscaping tree all over North America. The tree's foliage is a beautiful blue-green shade and it is hardy enough to grow in less-than-ideal soil and conditions. It does like full sun and the seedlings require full sun to develop. The cones are a light brown and open wide in October to disperse seeds, at which point the pine cones are no longer uniform and don't make very good holiday decorations. Some of the seeds that fall from the cone are dark and full and some are nearly transparent and empty. In colder regions, the seeds may scatter over the snow, a welcome meal for wildlife in the area.