These photos of new pine cones were taken in the early spring. My post on new pine needles can be found here: https://steemit.com/nature/@whatisnew/new-pine-tree-needles
Pine cones are the flowers of the pine tree. There are male and female cones on a pine tree. The female cones are green and sticky before they are fertilized. After fertilization these cones turn brown and harden, which protects the seeds inside of them. As the pine cone grows, the seeds inside mature, which takes a couple of years.
The smaller pine cones are male cones which are attached to new shoots of pine needles. They are full of pollen which fertilizes the female cones by wind. The small pine cones pictured here are the male cones..
New Pine needles and pine cones.
To summarize, the large, hard brown pine cones develop seeds and are always female. The smaller soft cones are full of pollen and are always male.
Thanks for looking!
Information Source: pineconesplus.com, thoughtco.com, homeguides.sfgate.com, softschools.com
Image Source: 100% my own.