New Mexico State Tree
Pinyon Pine (common name) Pinus edulis (scientific name) Overview Several species of pinyon pines produce edible seeds called pine nuts, which are harvested for food. The most popular is Pinus edulis, which led to its choice as the New Mexico state tree. In 1949, the New Mexico Federation of Women's Clubs was asked to select the state tree, and pinyon pine proved to be their favorite. Pinyon pine is a very slow-growing tree of the high desert. This tree is also known as Colorado pinyon, Rocky Mountain pinyon, nut pine, and two-needle pinyon. The common name "pinyon" is derived from the Spanish piñon, which refers to the large seed of pino (pine). For this reason, the tree is known in the Southwest and throughout much of its range by this Spanish equivalent. Close-up STATUS Official PHYSICAL DETAILS Pinyon pine is a small pine tree often growing as a low, bushy tree with an irregularly rounded, spreading crown. It normally reaches heights of 10 to 35 feet (3-9 m), sometimes reaching over 50 feet (15 m). Its thick, curved needles are 1 to 2 inches long, usually occurring in pairs. Cones grow up to 2 inches long, with two deep pockets under each scale to hold the large seeds, as these fall out soon after the cones open up. Height: up to 56 ft (17 m) Diameter: up to 40 in (1 m) Bark: 0.5-0.9 in (1.3-2.2 cm) thick, smoother and thinner when young Cones: 1.5-2 in (3.5-5) cm long, 1-4 cones per group Leaves: needles 3-4 in (6-11 cm) long, groups of 2 LIFESPAN New Mexico's state tree is slow growing and long-lived. It normally lives 150 to 200 years, can survive more than 500 years, and may reach 800 to 1,000 years of age. HABITAT Pinyon pine forms a characteristic woodland community with Utah juniper known as the pinyon-juniper woodland. Pinyon-juniper woodlands occupy the lowest and warmest forested zone in the United States, with a climate generally characterized as semiarid, and locally as dry subhumid. Summers are hot and winters relatively cold, especially in northern locations and at high elevations. The mean annual temperature in these forests varies from 40° to 61°F (4°-16° C); extremes may fall to -31°F (-35°C) and reach 112°F (44°C). Pinyon-juniper woodlands are found between the low plains covered by grassland, desert shrub, or chaparral vegetation and the high mountains just below the zone dominated by either sub-mountain shrubs or ponderosa pine. Pinyon pine is also found in forests with bristlecone pine, interior Douglas-fir, Rocky Mountain juniper, interior Ponderosa pine, Arizona cypress, Western live oak, oneseed juniper, and redberry juniper. IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE Pinyon-juniper communities provide food and shelter for deer, elk, pronghorn, wild horses, small mammals, and both game and non-game bird species. They also provide habitat for coyotes, mountain lions, and bobcats, and are important winter habitat for goshawks. Pinyon-juniper woodlands are important for mule deer in winter, providing cover, shelter, and understory forage. OTHER USES AND VALUES The edible nuts of pinyon pine trees are probably the most valuable product of the species and are in great demand because of their delicate flavor. Harvesting of pinyon nuts is still done from wild trees, since it is impractical to grow the trees in the manner of a plantation. The harvest is labor intensive, requiring pulling off the cones with a pole or gloves, or picking individual fallen seeds off the ground. The meat of the seed is protected by a heavy shell that must be removed. They are, however, a commercially important crop and they can be sold at high prices. The seeds may be eaten raw, but they are best prepared by roasting. Most of the commercially available pine nuts sold in the United States come not from native pinyons, but from Russian and Chinese pine species, and the seeds are imported. Firewood is the product derived from pinyon-juniper woodlands that has been used most widely and for the longest time. It continues to be the primary energy source for the rural population of small communities in much of the Southwest. Pinyon pine is preferred for fuelwood since it burns with a pleasing and distinctive aroma and has a higher heat value than any of its associates except oaks. Because of its poor growth form, brittleness, and small size, pinyon pine is not extensively used for sawn products, although it is suitable for processing. Wood products from pinyon pine include fuelwood, mine timbers, railroad crossties, lumber, fence posts, and pulpwood. Specialized woodworking shops use pinyon for novelties, and it is occasionally processed for charcoal. Pinyon has been cut for private use for Christmas trees for many years and has recently appeared on commercial lots. REPRODUCTION Pinyon pine regenerates solely from seed; asexual regeneration has not been documented. The pollen of pinyon pine is carried for miles by the wind. The tree may start bearing cones at 25 years. Good seed production occurs on trees that are 75 to 100 years old, with maximum seed production occurring on trees 160 to 200 years of age. The wingless seeds of pinyon pine are dispersed by birds and small mammals, primarily squirrels and chipmunks. SITE CHARACTERISTICS Pinyon pine is found on level or gently rolling uplands to moderately steep and very steep slopes. It also occurs in waterside areas in the Southwest and on slopes adjacent to river drainages. Pinyon pine sites include dry foothills, plateaus, mesas, mountain slopes, and canyon sides. It occurs on a variety of soil types, from shallow to moderately deep, and often rocky, well drained, and low in fertility. LOCATION/ELEVATION Pinyon pine is primarily a species of the southwestern United States and Colorado Plateau, extending to the eastern rim of the Great Basin. It occurs abundantly in Utah, Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico, though its range extends to extreme southern Wyoming, eastern Nevada and California, western Oklahoma, the Trans-Pecos region of Texas, and northern Mexico. It is found at elevations of between 5,000 and 7,000 feet (1,524-2,134 m). TRIVIA To some, pine nuts may be a luxury food, but to many Indian tribes of the Southwest and Great Basin areas, pine nuts are a diet staple. Indians eat the nuts raw, boiled, mashed, ground into flour, or as a spread for corn cakes. The oldest documented pinyon was found in 1956 in northeast Utah. It was then 973 years old, making it now well over a millennium old.
	Click to enlarge an image Pinyon Pine Pinyon Pine Needles and Cones Pinyon Pine Bark Pinyon Pine Distribution Map (pdf) CLASSIFICATION Kingdom: Plantae Subkingdom: Tracheobionta Superdivision: Spermatophyta Division: Coniferophyta Class: Pinopsida Order: Pinales Family: Pinaceae Genus: Pinus L. Species: Pinus edulis
	Sources: U.S. Forest Service U.S. National Arboretum U.S. Department of Agriculture Author: World Trade Press