Pinus edulis

Pinus edulis

by Allen Hanson, Native Plants of Arizona 2004

Common names: Pinyon, New Mexican, Colorado, Two–needle pine

Family: Pineaceae (1)

Synonymy: Pinus cembroides (Engelm.) var. edulis Voss (5)

Etymology: Pinus translates into “pine” (3)

Identification

Growth form: A small tree with an irregular rounded crown. Bark scaly or with small plates, red brown to gray.

Roots:

Stem: Stout and orange-brown, somewhat scraggly. (4)

Leaves: Usually two needles per fascicle. Needles are coarse, thick, curved, blue-green or yellow-green, stiff, and one to two inches long. (4)

Inflorescence/flowers: Monoecious; males red, cylindrical, in clusters near ends of branches; females purplish at branch tips. (4)

Fruit: Cones are ovoid, 2 inches long, short stalked, brown in color, with very thick cone scales. Each scale contains two very large edible "pine nuts". Maturing in September and October (4)

Similar species: Pinus monophylla which has only one needle per fascicle but shares morphological characteristics with Pinus edulis.

Ecology

Life history: perennial gymnosperm (2)

Native/introduced: Native to the southwestern United States (2)

Photosynthetic pathway:

Phenology:

Distribution: Southwestern United States also including Texas, California, Oklahoma, Wyoming, and northwestern Mexico. Typically found in pinyon-juniper woodlands. (6)

Uses

Needles are used as a gentle diuretic and can be used as an expectorant. Piñon needles can also be boiled to make a flavorful tea

References

1. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) (http://www.itis.usda.gov)

2. USDA, NRCS. 2002. The PLANTS Database, Version 3.5. (http://plants.usda.gov). National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70874-4490 USA.

3. Borrer, D. J. 1960. Dictionary of Word Roots and Combining Word Forms. Mayfield Publishing Company. Mountain View, California.

4. VT Dendrology Homepage. Virginia Tech University. www.cnr.vt.edu/dendro/dendrology/syllabus/pedulis.htm

5. Fire Effects Information Systems Homepage (FEIS) http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/tree/pinedu/introductory.html#SYNONYMS

6. Gymnosperm Database http://www.biologie.uni-hamburg.de/b-online/earle/pi/pin/edulis.htm

*Pinus edulis* by Allen Hanson, Native Plants of Arizona 2004 Common names: Pinyon, New Mexican, Colorado, Two–needle pine Family: Pineaceae (1) Synonymy: Pinus cembroides (Engelm.) var. edulis Voss (5) Etymology: Pinus translates into “pine” (3) Identification Growth form: A small tree with an irregular rounded crown. Bark scaly or with small plates, red brown to gray. Roots: Stem: Stout and orange-brown, somewhat scraggly. (4) Leaves: Usually two needles per fascicle. Needles are coarse, thick, curved, blue-green or yellow-green, stiff, and one to two inches long. (4) Inflorescence/flowers: Monoecious; males red, cylindrical, in clusters near ends of branches; females purplish at branch tips. (4) Fruit: Cones are ovoid, 2 inches long, short stalked, brown in color, with very thick cone scales. Each scale contains two very large edible "pine nuts". Maturing in September and October (4) Similar species: Pinus monophylla which has only one needle per fascicle but shares morphological characteristics with Pinus edulis. Ecology Life history: perennial gymnosperm (2) Native/introduced: Native to the southwestern United States (2) Photosynthetic pathway: Phenology: Distribution: Southwestern United States also including Texas, California, Oklahoma, Wyoming, and northwestern Mexico. Typically found in pinyon-juniper woodlands. (6) Uses Needles are used as a gentle diuretic and can be used as an expectorant. Piñon needles can also be boiled to make a flavorful tea References 1. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) (http://www.itis.usda.gov) 2. USDA, NRCS. 2002. The PLANTS Database, Version 3.5. (http://plants.usda.gov). National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70874-4490 USA. 3. Borrer, D. J. 1960. Dictionary of Word Roots and Combining Word Forms. Mayfield Publishing Company. Mountain View, California. 4. VT Dendrology Homepage. Virginia Tech University. www.cnr.vt.edu/dendro/dendrology/syllabus/pedulis.htm 5. Fire Effects Information Systems Homepage (FEIS) http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/plants/tree/pinedu/introductory.html#SYNONYMS 6. Gymnosperm Database http://www.biologie.uni-hamburg.de/b-online/earle/pi/pin/edulis.htm