Pinus orizabensis | |
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Scientific classification | |
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. orizabensis |
Binomial name | |
Pinus orizabensis (D.K.Bailey) D.K.Bailey & F.G.Hawksworth | |
Synonyms | |
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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.
The range is localised, confined to a small area in the eastern Eje Volcánico Transversal range (Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt), in the states of Puebla and Veracruz. It occurs at high altitudes, mostly from 2,200–2,800 metres (7,200–9,200 ft), in a cooler, moister climate than the other pinyon pines.
It is a small to medium-size tree, reaching 8–10 metres (26–33 ft) tall and with a trunk diameter of up to 50 cm. The bark is dark brown, thick and deeply fissured at the base of the trunk. The leaves ('needles') are in mixed fascicles of three and four, slender, 3–6 cm long, and deep green to blue-green, with stomata confined to a bright white band on the inner surfaces.
The cones are globose to ovoid, 4–7 cm long and 3–5 cm broad when closed, green at first, ripening yellow-brown when 16–18 months old, with only a small number of thin scales, typically 6-18 fertile scales. The cones open to 5–7 cm broad when mature, holding the seeds on the scales after opening.
The seeds are 12–15 mm long, with a thick shell, a pink endosperm, and a vestigial 2 mm wing; they are dispersed by the Mexican jay, which plucks the seeds out of the open cones. The jay, which uses the seeds as a major food resource, 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.
Pinus orizabensis is the most recent pinyon pine to be described, discovered by Dana K. Bailey in 1983 when examining an unusual pinyon cultivated at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; it was found to match wild specimens from the Pico de Orizaba. At first it was described as a subspecies of Mexican pinyon, but further research by Bailey & Hawksworth and others has shown that it is better treated as a distinct species. Some botanists still include it in Mexican pinyon though, despite their occurring together in some sites without evidence of hybridisation. Orizaba pinyon shows better adaptation to rainy temperate climate like England than Pinus cembroides which grows in dryer habitats.
Pinus orizabensis is most closely allied to Johann's pinyon and Potosi pinyon, with which it shares the leaf structure with the stomata confined to the inner faces; it differs from these in the larger cones and seeds, and from the latter in fewer needles per fascicle (3-4 vs 5). Like these two, the white-glaucous inner surfaces of the needles make it a very attractive small tree, suitable for parks and large gardens.
The edible (pine nut) seeds are collected in Mexico to a small extent.
The pinyon or piñon pine group grows in southwestern North America, especially in New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and Utah. 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.
Pinus serotina, the pond pine, black bark pine, bay pine,marsh pine, or pocosin pine, is a pine tree found along the Southeastern portion of the Atlantic coastal plain of the United States, from southern New Jersey south to Florida and west to southern Alabama. Pond pine distribution may be starting to spread west towards Mississippi and Tennessee.
Pinus fenzeliana commonly known as the Hainan white pine or Fenzel's pine, is a tree endemic to the island of Hainan off southern China. This pine reaches heights of 20 m with a trunk 1 m in diameter.
Pinus longaeva is a long-living species of bristlecone pine tree found in the higher mountains of California, Nevada, and Utah. Methuselah is a bristlecone pine that is 4,855 years old and has been credited as the oldest known living non-clonal organism on Earth. To protect it, the exact location of this tree is kept secret. In 1987, the bristlecone pine was designated one of Nevada's state trees.
Pinus cembroides, also known as pinyon pine, Mexican pinyon, Mexican nut pine, and Mexican stone pine, is a pine in the pinyon pine group, native to western North America. It grows in areas with low levels of rainfall and its range extends southwards from Arizona, Texas and New Mexico in the United States into Mexico. It typically grows at altitudes between 1,600 and 2,400 metres. It is a small pine growing to about 20 m (66 ft) with a trunk diameter of up to 50 cm (20 in). The seeds are large and form part of the diet of the Mexican jay and Abert's squirrel. They are also collected for human consumption, being the most widely used pine nut in Mexico. This is a common pine with a wide range and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".
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.
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.
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.
Pinus edulis, the Colorado pinyon, two-needle piñon, pinyon pine, or simply piñon, is a pine in the pinyon pine group whose ancestor was a member of the Madro-Tertiary Geoflora and is native to the United States.
Pinus kesiya is one of the most widely distributed pines in Asia. Its range extends south and east from the Khasi Hills in the northeast Indian state of Meghalaya, to northern Thailand, Philippines, Burma, Cambodia, Laos, southernmost China, and Vietnam. It is an important plantation species elsewhere in the world, including in southern Africa and South 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.
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.
Pinus aristata, the Rocky Mountain bristlecone pine, is a long-living species of bristlecone pine tree native to the United States. It appears in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado and northern New Mexico, with isolated populations in the San Francisco Peaks in Arizona and the Kaibab National Forest north of the Grand Canyon. It is usually found at very high altitudes, from 7,000–13,000 feet (2,100–4,000 m), in cold, dry subalpine climate conditions, often at the tree line, although it also forms extensive closed-canopy stands at somewhat lower elevations.
Pinus hartwegii, Hartweg's pine, the Mexican mountain pine, or pino de las alturas, is a pine native to the mountains of Mexico and Central America east to Honduras. It is named after Karl Theodor Hartweg, who described it in 1838.
Pinus durangensis, the Durango pine, is a pine tree species endemic to the Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range of north-western Mexico.
Pinus maximartinezii, called Martinez pinyon, big-cone pinyon or maxipiñon, is a pine in the pinyon pine group, native to west-central Mexico.
Pinus massoniana is a species of pine, native to Taiwan, a wide area of central and southern China, and northern Vietnam.
Pinus herrerae, Herrera's pine, is a species of conifer in the family Pinaceae. It is found only in Mexico. It is a straight trunked tree, 30–35 m tall and 75–100 cm dbh.
Pinus nelsonii, Nelson's pinyon, is a species of pine native to the mountains of northeastern Mexico, in Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí and Tamaulipas at 1,800–3,200 m altitude.