Lacebark Cones

I was in the Bonsai Museum late one day last week and I noticed how well the lacebark pine is growing there.  Pinus bungeana had captivating bark, silvery with army camouflage shaped patches of olive green and brown.  It is expensive because it grows slowly in its youth, but with time it settles into a pattern of more rapid growth.  My attention was drawn to the little asterisks along the branches that will be next year's ripe cones.  I don't know if we ever get any viable seed from them, but this tree seems more than willing to give rise to a new batch of pines.