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Bishop pine

Colorado pinyon, pinyon, piñon pine, piñón, two needle pinyon pine, two-needle pinyon

Habit Trees to 24m; trunk to 0.9m diam., straight to contorted; crown becoming rounded, flattened, or irregular. Shrubs or trees to 21m; trunk to 0.6m diam., strongly tapering, erect; crown conic, rounded, dense.
Bark

dark gray, deeply furrowed, ridges long, scaly-plated.

red-brown, shallowly and irregularly furrowed, ridges scaly, rounded.

Branches

spreading-ascending, often contorted;

twigs stout to slender, orange-brown, aging darker brown, rough.

persistent to near trunk base;

twigs pale red-brown to tan, rarely glaucous, aging gray-brown to gray, glabrous to papillose-puberulent.

Buds

ovoid-cylindric, dark brown, 1–2.5cm, resinous.

ovoid to ellipsoid, red-brown, 0.5–1cm, resinous.

Leaves

2 per fascicle, spreading to upcurved, persisting 2–3 years, 8–15cm × (1.2–)1.5(–2)mm, slightly twisted, dark yellow-green, all surfaces with stomatal lines, margins strongly serrulate, apex abruptly conic-acute;

sheath to 1.5cm, base persistent.

(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.

Pollen cones

ellipsoid, to 5mm, orange.

ellipsoid, ca. 7mm, yellowish to red-brown.

Seed(s)

cones maturing in 3 years, serotinous, long-persistent, mostly in whorls, mostly asymmetric, lanceoloid-ovoid before opening, curved-ovoid when open, 4–9cm, glossy bright to pale red-brown, sessile or on stalks to 1cm, mostly downcurved, scales with deep red-brown border distally on adaxial surface;

apophyses much thickened, the abaxial ones progressively more angulately dome-shaped toward base of cone;

umbo central, a stout-based, curved claw.

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.

2n

=24.

=24.

Pinus muricata

Pinus edulis

Habitat Dry ridges to coastal, windshorn forests, often in or around bogs Dry mountain slopes, mesas, plateaus, and pinyon-juniper woodland
Elevation 0–300m (0–1000ft) 1500–2100(–2700)m (4900–6900(–8900)ft)
Distribution
from FNA
CA; Mexico in Baja California
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AZ; CA; CO; NM; OK; TX; UT; WY; Mexico in Chihuahua
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[BONAP county map]
Discussion

The several varieties described for Pinus muricata reflect the high variability in leaf characters and in degree of elaboration of apophysis and umbo in this species. The extremes can sometimes occur together.

Of conservation concern.

(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.)

Source FNA vol. 2. FNA vol. 2.
Parent taxa Pinaceae > Pinus Pinaceae > Pinus
Sibling taxa
P. albicaulis, P. aristata, P. attenuata, P. balfouriana, P. banksiana, P. cembroides, P. clausa, P. contorta, P. coulteri, P. echinata, P. edulis, P. elliottii, P. engelmannii, P. flexilis, P. glabra, P. jeffreyi, P. lambertiana, P. leiophylla, P. longaeva, P. monophylla, P. monticola, P. palustris, P. ponderosa, P. pungens, P. quadrifolia, P. radiata, P. resinosa, P. rigida, P. sabiniana, P. serotina, P. strobiformis, P. strobus, P. sylvestris, P. taeda, P. torreyana, P. virginiana, P. washoensis
P. albicaulis, P. aristata, P. attenuata, P. balfouriana, P. banksiana, P. cembroides, P. clausa, P. contorta, P. coulteri, P. echinata, P. elliottii, P. engelmannii, P. flexilis, P. glabra, P. jeffreyi, P. lambertiana, P. leiophylla, P. longaeva, P. monophylla, P. monticola, P. muricata, P. palustris, P. ponderosa, P. pungens, P. quadrifolia, P. radiata, P. resinosa, P. rigida, P. sabiniana, P. serotina, P. strobiformis, P. strobus, P. sylvestris, P. taeda, P. torreyana, P. virginiana, P. washoensis
Synonyms P. muricata var. borealis, P. muricata var. cedrosensis, P. muricata var. stantonii, P. radiata var. binata, P. remorata Caryopitys edulis, P. cembroides var. edulis
Name authority D. Don: Trans. Linn. Soc. London, Bot. 17: 441. (1836) Engelmann: in Wislizenus, Mem. Tour N. Mexico 88. (1848)
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