Pinus cembroides
Pinus edulis
Mexican pinyon, pino piñonero, piñón
Colorado pinyon, pinyon, piñon pine, piñón, two needle pinyon pine, two-needle pinyon
red-brown to dark brown, shallowly and irregularly furrowed, ridges broad, scaly.
red-brown, shallowly and irregularly furrowed, ridges scaly, rounded.
spreading-ascending;
twigs red-brown, sometimes finely papillate, aging gray to gray-brown.
persistent to near trunk base;
twigs pale red-brown to tan, rarely glaucous, aging gray-brown to gray, glabrous to papillose-puberulent.
ovoid to short cylindric, pale red-brown, 0.5–1.2cm, slightly resinous.
ovoid to ellipsoid, red-brown, 0.5–1cm, resinous.
(2–)3(–4) per fascicle, spreading to upcurved, persisting 3–4 years, 2–6cm × 0.6–0.9(–1)mm, connivent, 2–3-sided, blue- to gray-green, abaxial surface not conspicuously whitened with stomatal bands or if stomatal bands present, these less conspicuous than on adaxial surfaces, often with 2 subepidermal resin bands evident, adaxial surfaces conspicuously whitened with stomatal lines, margins entire to finely serrulate, apex narrowly conic or subulate;
sheath 0.5–0.7cm, scales soon recurved, forming rosette, shed early.
(1–)2(–3) per fascicle, upcurved, persisting 4–6 years, 2–4cm × (0.9–)1–1.5mm, connivent, 2-sided (1-leaved fascicles with leaves 2-grooved, 3-leaved fascicles with leaves 3-sided), blue-green, all surfaces marked with pale stomatal bands, particularly the adaxial, margins entire or finely serrulate, apex narrowly acute to subulate;
sheath 0.5–0.7cm, scales soon recurved, forming rosette, shed early.
ellipsoid, to 10mm, yellow.
ellipsoid, ca. 7mm, yellowish to red-brown.
cones maturing in 2 years, shedding seeds and falling soon thereafter, spreading, symmetric, ovoid before opening, broadly depressed-ovoid to nearly globose when open, 1–3.5cm, pale yellow- to pale red-brown, resinous, nearly sessile or short-stalked;
apophyses thickened, slightly domed, angulate, transversely keeled;
umbo subcentral, slightly raised to depressed, truncate or umbilicate.
cones maturing in 2 years, shedding seeds and falling soon thereafter, spreading, symmetric, ovoid before opening, depressed-ovoid to nearly globose when open, ca. (3.5–)4(–5)cm, pale yellow- to pale red-brown, resinous, nearly sessile to short-stalked;
apophyses thickened, raised, angulate;
umbo subcentral, slightly raised or depressed, truncate or umbilicate.
=24.
=24.
Pinus cembroides
Pinus edulis
Pinus cembroides is the common pinyon of Mexican commerce. Populations of the Edwards Plateau, Texas, are disjunct about 150km east and north of the main area of distribution of the species, and they have been described as a distinct variety, P. cembroides var. remota Little, on the basis of thin seed shell and a higher frequency of 2-leaved fascicles in contrast to the thicker seed shell and prevalently 3-leaved fascicles in Mexican pinyon populations to the west and south. The strong overlap in nearly all character states between the populations of the Edwards Plateau and other populations makes var. remota difficult to maintain.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Pinus edulis var. fallax Little (P. californiarum subsp. fallax (Little) D.K.Bailey) appears to combine features of P. edulis and P. monophylla. More study is needed.
Seeds of Pinus edulis, the commonest southwestern United States pinyon, are much eaten and traded by Native Americans.
Pinyon (Pinus edulis) is the state tree of New Mexico.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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