Why pine cones open and close

Search for:. Why do pine cones open and close? Administrator October 17, First Name. Last Name. Email Address. Phone Number. The first thing my kids noticed when the pine cones hit the water was that they float! Since we had some pine cones that were open and some that were closed we had to take a moment to see if whether that affected if the pine cone floated or not.

This quickly turned into a sensory soup as Meatball tried to fit all the pine cones into the water container. They also noticed that the round part of the glass acted like a magnifying glass giving us a really neat up close view of our submerged pine cones.

Once wet our pine cones almost immediately closed up. The ones in the cold water closed quicker than the ones in the hot water. As soon as they were closed Meatball would transfer them over to the dry container. It was fascinating to watch them slowly reopen as they dried. The scales of seed-bearing pine cones move in response to changes in humidity. When it is damp or cold, the scales close up. The result shows that the pine cones have structural advantages that could influence the efficient motion of pine cones.

This study provides new insights to understand the motion of pine cones and would be used to design a novel water transport system. Register or Log In. The Magazine Shop. Login Register Stay Curious Subscribe. The Sciences. Seriously, Science? Newsletter Sign up for our email newsletter for the latest science news. Sign Up.