Pinus edulis

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Pinus edulis
Pinus edulis.jpg
Colorado pinyons at Bryce Canyon National Park
Status TNC G5.svg
Secure  (NatureServe) [2]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Gymnospermae
Division: Pinophyta
Class: Pinopsida
Order: Pinales
Family: Pinaceae
Genus: Pinus
Subgenus: P. subg. Strobus
Section: P. sect. Parrya
Subsection: P. subsect. Cembroides
Species:
P. edulis
Binomial name
Pinus edulis
Pinus edulis range map 1.png
Natural range of Pinus edulis
Synonyms [3]
List
    • Caryopitys edulis (Engelm.) Small
    • Pinus cembroides subsp. edulis (Engelm.) A.E.Murray
    • Pinus cembroides var. edulis (Engelm.) Voss
    • Pinus monophylla var. edulis (Engelm.) M.E.Jones

Pinus edulis, the Colorado pinyon, two-needle piñon, pinyon pine, or simply piñon, [4] is a pine in the pinyon pine group native to the Southwestern United States, used for its edible pine nuts.

Contents

Description

The piñon pine (Pinus edulis) is a small to medium size tree, reaching 3.0–6.1 metres (10–20 ft) tall and with a trunk diameter of up to 80 centimetres (31 in), rarely more. Its growth is "at an almost inconceivably slow rate" growing only 1.8 meters (6 ft) in one hundred years under good conditions. [5] for an average growth of 18 millimeters (0.72 in) per year. The bark is irregularly furrowed and scaly. The leaves ('needles') are in pairs, moderately stout, 3–5.5 cm (1+1⁄8–2+1⁄8 in) long, and green, with stomata on both inner and outer surfaces but distinctly more on the inner surface forming a whitish band.

The cones are globose, 3–5 cm (1+1⁄4–2 in) long and broad when closed, green at first, ripening yellow-buff when 18–20 months old, with only a small number of thick scales, with typically 5–10 fertile scales. The cones open to 4–6 cm (1+1⁄2–2+1⁄4 in) broad when mature, holding the seeds on the scales after opening. The seeds are 10–14 mm (3⁄8–9⁄16 in) long, with a thin shell, a white endosperm, and a vestigial 1–2 mm (1⁄32–3⁄32 in) wing.

The species intermixes with Pinus monophylla sbsp. fallax (see description under Pinus monophylla ) for several hundred kilometers along the Mogollon Rim of central Arizona and the Grand Canyon resulting in trees with both single- and two-needled fascicles on each branch. The frequency of two-needled fascicles increases following wet years and decreases following dry years. [6] The internal anatomy of both these needle types are identical except for the number of needles in each fascicle suggesting that Little's 1968 designation [7] of this tree as a variety of Pinus edulis is more likely than its subsequent designation as a subspecies of Pinus monophylla based entirely upon its single needle fascicle.

It is an aromatic species. Essential oil can be extracted from the trunk, limbs, needles, and seed cones. Prominent aromatic compounds from each portion of the tree include α-pinene, sabinene, β-pinene, δ-3-carene, β-phellandrene, ethyl octanoate, longifolene, and germacrene D. [8]

Taxonomy

Colorado pinyon was described by George Engelmann in 1848 from collections made near Santa Fe, New Mexico on Alexander William Doniphan's expedition to northern Mexico in 1846 and 1847. [3] [9]

It is most closely related to the single-leaf pinyon, which hybridises with it occasionally where their ranges meet in western Arizona and Utah. It is also closely related to the Texas pinyon, but is separated from it by a gap of about 100 kilometres (62 mi) so does not hybridise with it.

An isolated population of trees in the New York Mountains of southeast California, previously thought to be Colorado pinyons, have recently been shown to be a two-needled variant of single-leaf pinyon from chemical and genetic evidence. Occasional two-needled pinyons in northern Baja California, Mexico have sometimes been referred to Colorado pinyon in the past, but are now known to be hybrids between single-leaf pinyon and Parry pinyon.

Distribution and habitat

The range in the U.S. is in Colorado, southern Wyoming, eastern and central Utah, northern Arizona, New Mexico, western Oklahoma, southeastern California, and the Guadalupe Mountains in far western Texas, as well as northern Mexico. [10] It occurs at moderate elevations of 1,600–2,400 m (5,200–7,900 ft), rarely as low as 1,400 m (4,600 ft) and as high as 3,000 m (9,800 ft). It is widespread and often abundant in this region, forming extensive open woodlands, usually mixed with junipers in the pinyon-juniper woodland plant community. The Colorado pinyon (piñon) grows as the dominant species on 4.8 million acres (19,000 km2 or 7,300 sq mi) in Colorado, making up 22% of the state's forests. The Colorado pinyon has cultural meaning to agriculture, as strong piñon wood "plow heads" were used to break soil for crop planting at the state's earliest known agricultural settlements.

There is one known example of a Colorado pinyon growing amongst Engelmann spruce ( Picea engelmannii ) and limber pine ( Pinus flexilis ) at nearly 3,170 m (10,400 ft) on Kendrick Peak in the Kaibab National Forest of northern Arizona.

Ecology

The seeds are dispersed by the pinyon jay, which plucks them out of the open cones. The jay, which uses the seeds as a food resource, [11] stores many of the seeds for later use, and some of these stored seeds are not used and are able to grow into new trees. The seeds are also eaten by wild turkey, Montezuma quail, and various mammals. [12]

Uses

The edible seeds, [11] pine nuts, are extensively collected throughout its range; in many areas, the seed harvest rights are owned by Native American tribes, for whom the species is of immense cultural and economic importance.[ citation needed ] [13] They can be stored for a year when unshelled. [12]

Archaeologist Harold S. Gladwin described pit-houses constructed by southwestern Native Americans c. 400–900 CE; these were fortified with posts made from Pinyon trunks and coated with mud. [14]

Colorado pinyon is also occasionally planted as an ornamental tree and sometimes used as a Christmas tree.

In culture

The piñon pine (Pinus edulis) is the state tree of New Mexico.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pine nut</span> Edible seeds of certain species of pines

Pine nuts, also called piñón, pinoli, or pignoli, are the edible seeds of pines. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, only 29 species provide edible nuts, while 20 are traded locally or internationally owing to their seed size being large enough to be worth harvesting; in other pines, the seeds are also edible but are too small to be of notable value as human food. The biggest producers of pine nuts are China, Russia, North Korea, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pinyon pine</span> Group of conifers

The pinyon or piñon pine group grows in southwestern North America, especially in New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and Utah, with the single-leaf pinyon pine just reaching into southern Idaho. The trees yield edible nuts, which are a staple food of Native Americans, and widely eaten as a snack and as an ingredient in New Mexican cuisine. The name comes from the Spanish pino piñonero, a name used for both the American varieties and the stone pine common in Spain, which also produces edible nuts typical of Mediterranean cuisine. Harvesting techniques of the prehistoric American Indians are still used today to collect the pinyon seeds for personal use or for commercialization. The pinyon nut or seed is high in fats and calories. In the western United States, pinyon pines are often found in pinyon–juniper woodlands.

<i>Pinus albicaulis</i> Pine tree species found in North America

Pinus albicaulis, known by the common names whitebark pine, white bark pine, white pine, pitch pine, scrub pine, and creeping pine, is a conifer tree native to the mountains of the western United States and Canada, specifically subalpine areas of the Sierra Nevada, Cascade Range, Pacific Coast Ranges, Rocky Mountains, and Ruby Mountains. It shares the common name "creeping pine" with several other plants.

<i>Pinus sabiniana</i> Pine tree found in North America

Pinus sabiniana is a pine endemic to California in the United States. Its vernacular names include towani pine, foothill pine, gray pine, ghost pine, and bull pine. The name digger pine was historically used but apparently includes a racial slur.

<i>Pinus flexilis</i> North American species of pine tree

Pinus flexilis, the limber pine, is a species of pine tree in the family Pinaceae that occurs in the mountains of the Western United States, Mexico, and Canada. It is also called Rocky Mountain white pine.

<i>Pinus strobiformis</i> Species of conifer

Pinus strobiformis, also known as Chihuahua white pine, is a medium-sized white pine tree endemic to western Mexico in the Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range. It is typically a high-elevation pine growing mixed with other conifers in montane forest. It was formerly considered conspecific with Pinus reflexa of the southwestern United States and Pinus stylesii of northeastern Mexico, but is now treated as distinct from these.

<i>Pinus ponderosa</i> Species of large pine tree in North America

Pinus ponderosa, commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, western yellow-pine, or filipinus pine, is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to mountainous regions of western North America. It is the most widely distributed pine species in North America.

<i>Pinus cembroides</i> North American species of pine

Pinus cembroides, also known as pinyon pine, Mexican pinyon, Mexican nut pine, and Mexican stone pine, is a pine in the pinyon pine group.

<i>Pinus orizabensis</i> Species of conifer

Pinus orizabensis, the Orizaba pinyon, is a pine in the pinyon pine group, endemic to central Mexico. It is considered also as a sub-species of Pinus cembroides which is classified as Pinus cembroides subsp. orizabensis D.K.Bailey. It has larger seeds than the type.

<i>Pinus johannis</i> Species of conifer

Pinus johannis, the Johann's pine, is a pine in the pinyon pine group, native to North America. The range extends from southeast Arizona and southwest New Mexico, United States, south in Mexico along the Sierra Madre Occidental and the Sierra Madre Oriental to southern Zacatecas and San Luis Potosí. It occurs at moderate to high altitudes, from 1,600–3,000 metres (5,200–9,800 ft), in cool, dry climate conditions.

<i>Pinus culminicola</i> Species of conifer

Pinus culminicola, commonly known as Potosí pinyon or Potosí Piñón, is a pine in the pinyon pine group, native and endemic to northeast Mexico. The range is highly localised, confined to a small area of high summits in the northern Sierra Madre Oriental in Coahuila and Nuevo León, and only abundant on the highest peak, Cerro Potosí. It occurs at very high altitudes, from 3000–3700 m, in cool, moist subalpine climate conditions.

<i>Pinus remota</i> Species of conifer

Pinus remota, commonly known as the Texas pinyon or papershell pinyon, is a pine in the pinyon pine group, native to southwestern Texas and northeastern Mexico. It can be distinguished from other pinyon species by its thin-walled seeds, which made it especially attractive as a food to Indians and Mexicans living where it grew. Spanish explorer Cabeza de Vaca noted that the papershell pinon was an important food for the Indians in 1536.

<i>Pinus monophylla</i> Pine tree found in North America

Pinus monophylla, the single-leaf pinyon, is a pine in the pinyon pine group, native to North America. The range is in southernmost Idaho, western Utah, Arizona, southwest New Mexico, Nevada, eastern and southern California and northern Baja California.

<i>Pinus quadrifolia</i> Pine tree found in North America

Pinus quadrifolia, the Parry pinyon, is a pine in the pinyon pine group native to southernmost California in the United States and northern Baja California in Mexico, from 33° 30' N south to 30° 30' N. The Parry pinyon has a lifespan of around 200 to 500 years. It is usually found in rocky areas that often have thin soil. It occurs at moderate altitudes from 1,300 metres (4,300 ft) to 1,800 metres (5,900 ft), rarely as low as 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) and as high as 2,500 metres (8,200 ft). It is scarce and often scattered in this region, forming open woodlands, usually mixed with junipers. Other common names include nut pine and fourleaf pinyon pine.

<i>Pinus aristata</i> North American species of pine tree

Pinus aristata, the Rocky Mountain bristlecone pine or Colorado bristlecone pine is a long-lived species of bristlecone pine tree native to the United States. It is found in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado and northern New Mexico, with an isolated population in the San Francisco Peaks of Arizona. It is found at very high altitudes, from 2,100 to 4,000 meters in cold, dry subalpine climate conditions, often at the tree line, although it also forms extensive closed-canopy stands at somewhat lower elevations.

<i>Juniperus osteosperma</i> Western North American species of juniper

Juniperus osteosperma is a shrub or small tree native to the southwestern United States.

<i>Pinus maximartinezii</i> Species of conifer

Pinus maximartinezii, called Martinez pinyon, big-cone pinyon or maxipiñon, is a pine in the pinyon pine group, native to west-central Mexico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pinyon–juniper woodland</span> Biome of Western United States higher elevation deserts

Pinyon–juniper woodland, also spelled piñon–juniper woodland, is a biome found mid-elevations in arid regions of the Western United States, characterized by being an open forest dominated by low, bushy, evergreen junipers, pinyon pines, and their associates. At lower elevations, junipers often predominate and trees are spaced widely, bordering on and mingling with grassland or shrubland, but as elevation increases, pinyon pines become common and trees grow closer, forming denser canopies. Historically, pinyon-juniper woodland provided a vital source of fuel and food for indigenous peoples of the American Southwest. The nuts continue to be a traditional indigenous food, and because nut-collecting was also adopted by the Spanish in the 1500s, the nuts are also traditionally harvested by some Hispanic communities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pinyon jay</span> Species of bird in North America

The pinyon jay is a species of jay, and is the only member of the genus Gymnorhinus. Native to Western North America, the species ranges from central Oregon to northern Baja California, and eastward as far as western Oklahoma, though wanderers are often sighted beyond this range. It is typically found within foothills, especially where pinyon pines occur.

References

    1. ↑ Farjon, A. (2013). "Pinus edulis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2013: e.T42360A2975133. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T42360A2975133.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
    2. ↑ NatureServe (6 December 2024). "Pinus edulis". NatureServe Explorer. Arlington, Virginia. Retrieved 8 December 2024.
    3. 1 2 "Pinus edulis Engelm". Plants of the World Online . Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew . Retrieved 20 November 2024.
    4. ↑ "New Mexico Secretary of State: KID'S Corner". Archived from the original on 2008-05-01. Retrieved 2009-05-09.
    5. ↑ Rehorn, John T. (Winter–Spring 1997). "The Gift". American Forests. 103 (1): 28 caption.
    6. ↑ Cole, Ken; Fisher, Jessica; Arundel, Samantha; Canella, John; Swift, Sandra (2008). "Geographical and climatic limits of needle types of one- and two-needled pinyon pines". Journal of Biogeography. 35 (2): 357–369. Bibcode:2008JBiog..35..257C. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2699.2007.01786.x. PMC   3001037 . PMID   21188300.
    7. ↑ Little, Elbert (1968). "Two new pinyon varieties from Arizona". Phytologia. 17: 329–342.
    8. ↑ Poulson A, Wilson TM, Packer C, Carlson RE, Buch RM. "Essential oils of trunk, limbs, needles, and seed cones of Pinus edulis (Pinaceae) from Utah". Phytologia. 102 (3): 200–207.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
    9. ↑ Engelmann, George (1848). "Botanical Appendix". In Wislizenus, F.A. (ed.). Memoir of a Tour to Northern Mexico :Connected with Col. Doniphan's Expedition, in 1846 and 1847 (First ed.). Washington, D.C.: Tippin & Streeper. p. 88. doi: 10.5962/bhl.title.41509 . Retrieved 20 November 2024.
    10. ↑ Moore, Gerry; Kershner, Bruce; Craig Tufts; Daniel Mathews; Gil Nelson; Spellenberg, Richard; Thieret, John W.; Terry Purinton; Block, Andrew (2008). National Wildlife Federation Field Guide to Trees of North America. New York: Sterling. p. 92. ISBN   978-1-4027-3875-3.
    11. 1 2 Whitney, Stephen (1985). Western Forests (The Audubon Society Nature Guides). New York: Knopf. p.  414. ISBN   0-394-73127-1.
    12. 1 2 Peattie, Donald Culross (1953). A Natural History of Western Trees. New York: Bonanza Books. pp. 68–69.
    13. ↑ Fischer, Karen (December 6, 2021). "In New Mexico, Money Grows on Trees". Eater . Retrieved December 6, 2021.
    14. ↑ Peattie, Donald Culross (1953). A Natural History of Western Trees. New York: Bonanza Books. p. 70.
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