Pine cones are things that you probably have seen or held in hand. It looks amazing and there is something unique about its appearance. But what exactly are pine cones? What purpose do they serve? You’ll be surprised to know that these strange looking parts of trees have been associated with all sorts of things such as immortality, the third eye, and even enlightenment.
In this blog, we’ll be taking a look at some lesser-known facts about pine cones. Let’s get started.
- Today, animals such as crossbills, squirrels, woodpeckers gorge on pine cones. But there was a time millions of years ago when dinosaurs such as Parasaurolophus, popularly known as the crest-headed hadrosaur, feasted on this woody fruit of a pine tree. Their jaws and numerous teeth rows were perfect for munching on these tough fruits. Fossil evidence suggests they ate pine cones in the Cretaceous marshlands
- Pine cones were regarded as a charm that was good for fertility. Celtic people believed in it and women used to keep a pine cone underneath the pillow to increase their likelihood of pregnancy. Even the Ancient Romans linked pine comes with Venus, which they saw as the Goddess of love and fertility
- Our brains contain pine cones too. Well, not really but they do contain a part that is named after pine cones. Because of its similar shape to pine cones, the geographic center of our brain, the pineal gland is given this name. Some of the critical jobs that the pineal gland performs in our body include light perception and managing wake and sleep patterns. Another unique thing about it is that other than our kidneys, it gets the maximum amount of blood flow in our body. It is also linked with esoteric topics such as enlightenment and the third eye. This could be one reason why pine cones were regarded so highly back in the olden days
- Pine cones that the world talks about and notices the most are actually female cones, which produces seeds. Even at maturity, male cones are rather smaller in size, less noticeable, and way softer. Male cones produce pollen, which travels through the air and reaches pine cones to fertilize ovules present in them so that they eventually become seeds
Aren’t pine cones special? At Buried Treasure Fossils, large pine cones for sale are available. These aren’t your ordinary pine cones but rare Jurassic Araucaria pine cones from Argentina. These are some of the world’s most detailed pine cones. Only a few are left for sale; get them as soon as you can!
