Fig. 14. Two soft spikes of matai ovules, appearing like elongated cones (mid December).
Fig 15. Male matai cones close to pollen shed in late November.
Fig. 16. A spike of male cones of matai (April). These cones (1.5-2.5mm long) are visible throughout winter, a. cones (approx. 2mm long), b. subtending bract, c. leaf subtending male spike.
Fig. 17. Spike of matai ovules in their first year of development (April, following pollination in November). Several of the original ovules have aborted since the spike first appeared in November, a. carpidium, b. ovule (3mm), c. bract of aborted ovule.
Fig. 18. Two stages in seed development in matai (December). The two small ovules on the right were recently pollinated; the large (green) one on the left is in its second summer, pollinated over 12 months earlier and close to fertilisation. It will ripen to a dark purplish black seed in autumn. Note that most of the original 8 or so ouvles have aborted.