Division Gymnosperms. The juniper
Gymnosperms are trees and shrubs that reproduce by seeds; their ovules and seeds lie openly on cone scales, not inside a fruit. The textbook gives about 700 species for this division; current counts are about 1000. Juniper is an evergreen tree up to 20 m tall with small scale-like or needle-like leaves; the Zarafshan juniper is dioecious: pollen cones grow on one plant and ovule cones on another. Pollen blows to the ovule, a pollen tube grows, one of the sperm fertilizes the egg cell in the archegonium, and the ovule becomes a seed. The scales of a juniper cone turn into a fleshy skin and the cone ripens in the 2nd–3rd year after fertilization. Three juniper species grow in Uzbekistan’s mountains (Zarafshan, Turkestan, Saur). The Scots pine is monoecious and light-loving, with needles in pairs, 5–7 cm; its cones ripen in 2 years; it does not grow wild in Uzbekistan but is planted.
| Feature | Juniper | Scots pine |
|---|---|---|
| Sexes | dioecious | monoecious |
| Leaves | small, scale-like or needle-like | needles, 5–7 cm |
| Cones ripen in | 2–3 years | 2 years |
Comparison: look at juniper and pine twigs (fallen, or cut by adults from planted trees), count the needles, draw the cones and make a herbarium sheet. Safety: do not break branches off trees; resin is sticky and can irritate skin, so wear gloves/mask if allergic; do not eat juniper cones; wash hands.