The Norway Spruce is a gymnosperm, meaning its seeds are not protected by a fruit (using pine cones). This method of reproduction does not depend on water for fertilization. These trees produce both male and female cones to reproduce (pollen cones from the lower part of the tree and ovulate cones from the upper part of the tree). The pollen cones contain sporangia, which undergo meiosis to produce microspores to become pollen grains. On the other hand, the ovulate cones have two ovules per scale with a sporangium called a nucellus, which only has one opening called a micropyle. Using the wind as a travel mechanism, the pollen grains from the pollen cone enter the micropyle in the ovulate cone, which allow the grains to germinate in the ovule to form the pollen tube to enter the nucellus. After a year, fertilization will begin, where the mother cells goes through meiosis to produce 4 haploid cells. Three of them will die, and the remaining one will be called the megaspore. The megaspore will divide by mitosis to become an immature female gametophyte, containing two to three archegonia with an egg per each. Once the eggs are ready to be fertilized, two sperm cells will have matured in the pollen grain, and the pollen tube will have penetrated the nucellus to the female gametophyte. Next, the sperm and the egg will fuse to form an embryo. This embryo will have elementary leaves and roots and will be nourished inside the gametophyte, which will subsequently produce the pine seed to grow into a tree. These pine cones are cylindrical and 10-15 centimeters long by about 4 centimeters wide. They also have a light brown color when fully matured. These cones hang down from the branches at their tip. The female cones are also usually larger than the male cones.
