Backround Information

Pollen Structure

Pollen cells have cell walls and cell membranes, and within them are sperm cells. The structure of the pollen surface is divided into three layers. The first layer contains chemically resistant polymers as well as openings (apertures). The second layer is mainly cellulose. The final inside layers is made of lipids, proteins, pigments, and aromatics.

Source: http://www.plantcell.org/content/16/suppl_1/S84.full

Conifer Information

Conifer forests are generally found in North America all the way from the pacific ocean to the atlantic ocean. In addition, they can be found across Northern Europe in Scandinavia and Russia, and also across in Siberia, Mongolia, and all the way into Northern Japan and China. Conifers make up a lot of what is in these forests, all living in close proximity to each other.

Source: http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/ecoregions/about/habitat_types/habitats/coniferous_forests/

Wind Pollination

Wind pollination is how at least 10% of angiosperms pollinate themselves and it has faced a large amount of evolution. The efficiency of wind pollination is in reality not as inefficient as people assume it to be in comparison to animal pollinated plants. There is lots of importance placed on plant height, flower positioning, and stamen and stigma characteristics that all add to how successful wind pollination can be from case to case. 

http://aob.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2009/02/14/aob.mcp035.full.pdf+html