Pinus remota

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Pinus remota
Pinus remota, Elephant Mountain WMA, Brewster County, Texas 02.jpg
Cone
Pinus remota, Sierra Rica, Manuel Benavides, Chihuahua, Mexico 1.jpg
Habit
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. remota
Binomial name
Pinus remota
(Little) D. K. Bailey & F. G. Hawksworth

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.

Contents

Description

Pinus remota is a small tree or large shrub, reaching 3–10 m tall and with a trunk diameter of up to 40 cm. The bark is thick, rough, and scaly. The leaves ('needles') are in mixed pairs and threes (mostly pairs), slender, 3–5 cm long, and dull gray-green, with stomata on both inner and outer surfaces. The cones are squat globose, 3–5 cm long and broad when closed, green at first, ripening yellow-buff when 18–20 months old, with only a small number of thin scales, with typically 5-12 fertile scales.

The cones open to 4–6 cm broad when mature, holding the seeds on the scales after opening. The seeds measure 10–12 mm long, with a very thin shell, a white endosperm, and a vestigial 1–2 mm wing; they are dispersed by the Woodhouse's scrub jay, which plucks the seeds out of the open cones. The jay, which uses the seeds as a food resource, stores many of the seeds for later use, and some of these stored seeds are not used and able to grow into new trees.

Taxonomy

Texas pinyon was previously included in Mexican pinyon, only being discovered as distinct in 1966 when US botanist Elbert L. Little noticed that the seed shells of some pinyons in Texas were very thin compared to many others. He treated it as a variety of Mexican pinyon, Pinus cembroides var. remota. Subsequent research found other differences, and it is now usually treated as a distinct species, probably more closely related to the Colorado pinyon P. edulis, which shares thin seed shells and needles mostly in pairs. Texas pinyon differs from both Mexican and Colorado pinyons in the very small, recessed umbo on the cone scales (larger and knob-like on other pinyons).

Distribution and habitat

The range is in western Texas, United States, on the south edge of the Edwards Plateau and the hills between Fort Stockton and Presidio, and in northeastern Mexico, mainly in Coahuila but also just into Chihuahua and Nuevo León. It occurs at low to moderate altitudes, from 450–700 m on the Edwards Plateau and from 1200–1800 m in the rest of its range. It is scarce, with small, scattered populations usually on dry, rocky sites and arroyos where bare rock lowers the likelihood of wildfire spreading easily.

Uses

The edible seeds are occasionally collected like those of other pinyons, and sold as pine nuts. However, in its barren, dry habitat, infrequent and small crops are normal, reducing its economic value. It is occasionally planted as an ornamental tree, where its remarkable tolerance of drought and even semi-desert conditions makes it valuable in hot, dry areas.

The papershell piñón and Cabeza de Vaca

Pinus remota has importance in determining the route of Spanish explorer Cabeza de Vaca, the first European to explore Texas and the northern part of Mexico. Writing an account of his experiences, Cabeza de Vaca said that in 1535 the Indians of the region through which he was passing gave him and his companions pine nuts to eat which were "better than those of Castile [Spain], because they have very thin shells." [2]

Route of Cabeza de Vaca, 1528-1536, as proposed by Alex D. Krieger. Expedition Cabeza de Vaca Karte.png
Route of Cabeza de Vaca, 1528-1536, as proposed by Alex D. Krieger.

In attempting to determine the route followed by Cabeza de Vaca from near the area of Galveston, Texas on the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean coast of Mexico, several scholars, notably Cleve Hallenbeck in 1940, believed that the statement by Cabeza de Vaca referred to the seeds of Pinus edulis, the Colorado piñón, which is found in the mountains of southern New Mexico and adjacent Texas—but not in northeastern Mexico. The Mexican piñón (Pinus cembroides) found in Mexico has thick shells, rather than the thin shells described by Cabeza de Vaca. Therefore, Hallenbeck concluded on the basis of the range of piñón species that Cabeza de Vaca had traversed Texas westward from near Galveston to southernmost New Mexico and crossed the Rio Grande river near El Paso, Texas.

To the contrary, Alex D. Krieger in a doctoral dissertation (1961) proposed instead that Cabeza De Vaca had traversed the coast of Texas, crossed the Rio Grande into Mexico and turned northwest, passing near present-day Monclova, Mexico and proceeding through Mexico to meet the Rio Grande again near present-day Presidio, Texas. [3] Krieger's trans-Mexican route for Cabeza de Vaca was dismissed by proponents of a trans-Texas route because no piñón with thin shelled seeds was known to be native to northern Mexico. [4]

However, in 1966, botanist Elbert L. Little first described a subspecies of the Mexican piñón with "thin shelled seeds" and in 1979 the thin-shelled piñón was proposed to be considered as a separate species with the name Pinus remota or papershell piñón. In 1996, scholars traveled to the Monclova, Mexico area and collected specimens of the papershell piñón, thus proving that Cabeza de Vaca might have encountered thin-shelled piñón seeds in Mexico as well as in Texas. The trans-Mexico route of Cabeza de Vaca, proposed by Krieger, now has the support of many scholars. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pine</span> Genus of plants in the conifer family Pinaceae

A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus Pinus of the family Pinaceae. Pinus is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae.

<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. 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 brutia</i> Species of conifer

Pinus brutia, commonly known as the Turkish pine and Calabrian pine, is a species of pine native to the eastern Mediterranean region. The bulk of its range is in Turkey, but certain varieties are naturalized as far east as Afghanistan. It is also known as East Mediterranean pine, Afghan pine, and Brutia pine. The name "Calabrian pine" comes from an introduced grove in the Calabria region of southern Italy; historically this region was called Bruttium, which is likely where the specific epithet "brutia" comes from. Pinus brutia bears many similarities with other, closely related species such as Pinus halepensis and Pinus canariensis. Turkish pine forms a species complex with the former.

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

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".

<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 edulis</i> Species of plant

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

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abert's squirrel</span> Species of rodent

Abert's squirrel or the tassel-eared squirrel is a tree squirrel in the genus Sciurus native to the southern Rocky Mountains from the United States to the northern Sierra Madre Occidental of Mexico, with concentrations found in Arizona, New Mexico, and southwestern Colorado. It is closely associated with, and largely confined to, mature ponderosa pine forests. It is named in honor of the American naturalist John James Abert; nine subspecies are recognised. It is recognizable by its tufted ears, gray color, pale underparts and rufous patch on the lower back. The squirrel feeds on the seeds and cones of the Mexican pinyon and the ponderosa pine when they are available, but will also take fungi, buds, bark, and carrion. Breeding normally occurs in summer, with a spherical nest being built high in the canopy.

<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">Sierra Madre Oriental pine–oak forests</span> Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion of Mexico and the United States

The Sierra Madre Oriental pine–oak forests are a temperate broadleaf and mixed forest ecoregion of northeastern and Central Mexico, extending into the state of Texas in the United States.

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

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.

<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 has provided a vital source of fuel and food for peoples of the American Southwest.

<i>Quercus grisea</i> Species of oak tree

Quercus grisea, commonly known as the gray oak, shin oak or scrub oak, is a North American species deciduous or evergreen shrub or medium-sized tree in the white oak group. It is native to the mountains of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico. It hybridises with four other oak species where the ranges overlap, the Arizona white oak (Q. arizonica), the Gambel oak (Q. gambelii), the Mohr oak (Q. mohriana) and the sandpaper oak (Q. pungens).

<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 remota". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2013. IUCN: e.T42409A2978032. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T42409A2978032.en . Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  2. Olson, Donald W.; et al. (October 1997). "Piñon Pines and the Route of Cabeza de Vaca". Southwestern Historical Quarterly: 177.
  3. Chipman, Donald E. "In Search of Cabeza de Vaca's Route across Texas: An Historiographical Survey". (Oct 1987) Southwestern Historical Quarterly, http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/colonial/cabezadevaca.pdf, accessed 28 July 2016
  4. Olson, et al., pp 178-180
  5. Dolan et al., pp. 184-186