On average, branches of Pinus contorta Dougl. bearing male cones had 35 fewer needle pairs than equivalent vegetative branches, and significantly fewer differentiated primordia (i.e., male cones + needle pairs + sterile cataphylls). It was estimated that the formation of male cones results in a 27–50% reduction in the number of needles per male cone-bearing branch. In early spring, branches bearing male cones had on average 23% (0.44 g) more dry weight than vegetative branches. On average, 95% of the dry weight of male cone-bearing branches was allocated to the terminal shoot (54% of which was male cones) and 5% to the lateral shoots. By comparison, vegetative branches allocated 85% of their total dry weight to the terminal shoot and 15% to the lateral shoots. These findings suggest that male cones may reduce the photosynthetic potential of the trees which bear them.