RE: UNSCHOOLING DIY: BOTANICAL EXPERIMENT FOR MY BOY

Many different species of conifers (trees with pine cones) exist. There are a great many different conditions that cause pine cones to open and close, depending on the specifics of the environment the different species live in. Desert species like Bristlecone Pines (which are said to grow over 5000 years old!) may only open when there is water present, so the seedlings won't just cook in the dry dust but have a chance to grow (I am not saying this is the case for Bristlecone Pines, but stating a hypothetical case using them and their environment as an example). I have read that the Jack Pine's cones only open from a fire hot enough to reduce potential competitors of it's seedlings to ash, which also fertilizes the soil in which their seeds land.

What a wonderful experiment to perform on the species you have locally!

Thanks!