A timelapse photographer has documented a pine cone growing into a pine tree over the course of 300 days.
The YouTube channel Boxlapse — which primarily makes timelapses of plants growing — posted the pine tree video last week with the photographer explaining how the video came to be.
“Last Christmas they sold these stone pine cones in the supermarket so I bought one to try to see if I could grow something from the seeds,” writes Boxlapse in the video’s description. “And it turned out to be one of my favorites this year. Definitely keeping this one going for longer so there will most likely be an update video coming end of next year.”
The video starts with the pine cone slowly unfurling over the course of a week. As the scales flop down, a person plucks away one of the pine seeds tucked away inside the cone — the primary function of a pine cone is to keep the pine tree’s seeds safe.
The seed is placed into a flower pot where it remains unseen for almost a month until it appears again with green sprouts pushing it above the soil.
On day 27, the sprouts rid themselves of the seed in dramatic fashion as it opens up and pine leaves begin rushing through. By day 100 it is recognizably a pine and by day 300 it is a certified mini pine tree.
According to Michigan State University, pine cones only come from pine trees, although all conifers produce cones. Pine cones can stay in a tree for 10 years before they drop to the ground and there are male and female cones. However, the only pine cones people see are female ones as the male cones are far smaller. But the male cones do release pollen which drifts into the air and fertilizes the female cones.
How to Make a Timelapse Video
In PetaPixel’s guide, Alexander J.E. Bradley explains that a timelapse video is made up from 25 single photos per second, and when placed back-to-back, it tricks our mind into seeing motion.
For more of Boxlapse’s plant-based timelapse video, head on over to their YouTube channel.