''Pinus cembroides'', also known as pinyon pine,
Mexican pinyon,
[ Mexican nut pine,][ and Mexican stone pine,][ is a ]pine
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. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...
in the pinyon pine
The pinyon or piñon pine group grows in southwestern North America, especially in New Mexico, 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 ...
group, native to western North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
. It grows in areas with low levels of rainfall and its range extends southwards from Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
, Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
and New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
in the United States into Mexico. It typically grows at altitudes between . It is a small pine growing to about with a trunk diameter of up to . The seeds are large and form part of the diet of the Mexican jay
The Mexican jay (''Aphelocoma wollweberi'')
Etymology: ''Aphelocoma'', from Latinized Ancient Greek ''apheles-'' (from ἀφελής-) "simple" + Latin ''coma'' (from Greek ''kome'' κόμη) "hair", in reference to the lack of striped or banded ...
and Abert's squirrel
Abert's squirrel or the tassel-eared squirrel (''Sciurus aberti'') 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 fo ...
. They are also collected for human consumption, being the most widely used pine nut
Pine nuts, also called piñón (), pinoli (), pignoli or chilgoza (), are the edible seeds of pines (family Pinaceae, genus ''Pinus''). According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, only 29 species provide edible nuts, while 20 are trade ...
in Mexico. This is a common pine with a wide range and the International Union for Conservation of Nature
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...
has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern
A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...
".
Distribution
The range extends from westernmost Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
(where it is restricted to the Chisos and Davis Mountains
The Davis Mountains, originally known as Limpia Mountains, are a range of mountains in West Texas, located near Fort Davis, after which they are named. The fort was named for then United States Secretary of War and later Confederate President Je ...
), south through much of Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, occurring widely along the Sierra Madre Oriental
The Sierra Madre Oriental () is a mountain range in northeastern Mexico. The Sierra Madre Oriental is part of the American Cordillera, a chain of mountain ranges (cordillera) that consists of an almost continuous sequence of mountain ranges that f ...
and Sierra Madre Occidental
The Sierra Madre Occidental is a major mountain range system of the North American Cordillera, that runs northwest–southeast through northwestern and western Mexico, and along the Gulf of California. The Sierra Madre is part of the American C ...
ranges, and more rarely in the eastern Eje Volcánico Transversal range. It lives in areas with little rainfall, which fluctuates between to , the subspecies orizabensis (''Pinus orizabensis
''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.Baile ...
'') is found farther south in the state of Veracruz
Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...
. There is also a disjunct population in the Sierra de la Laguna
The Sierra de la Laguna is a mountain range at the southern end of the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico, and is the southernmost range of the Peninsular Ranges System.
It is located in La Paz Municipality and Los Cabos Municipality of sout ...
of southern Baja California Sur
Baja California Sur (; 'South Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California Sur ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California Sur), is the least populated state and the 31st admitted state of the 32 federal ent ...
. It occurs at moderate altitudes, mostly from to .
Description
''Pinus cembroides'' is a small to medium-size tree
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...
, reaching to tall and with a trunk diameter of up to . The bark is dark brown, thick and deeply fissured at the base of the trunk. The leaves
A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...
('needles') are in mixed pairs and threes, slender, to long, and dull yellowish green, with stomata
In botany, a stoma (from Greek ''στόμα'', "mouth", plural "stomata"), also called a stomate (plural "stomates"), is a pore found in the epidermis of leaves, stems, and other organs, that controls the rate of gas exchange. The pore is bor ...
on both inner and outer surfaces.
The cones
A cone is a three-dimensional geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a flat base (frequently, though not necessarily, circular) to a point called the apex or vertex.
A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines, or lines conn ...
are globose, to long and broad when closed, green at first, ripening yellow-brown when 18–20 months old, with only a small number of thick scales, with typically 5-12 fertile scales. The cones open to to broad when mature, holding the seed
A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...
s on the scales after opening. The seeds are to long, with a thick shell, a pink endosperm
The endosperm is a tissue produced inside the seeds of most of the flowering plants following double fertilization. It is triploid (meaning three chromosome sets per nucleus) in most species, which may be auxin-driven. It surrounds the embryo and ...
, and a vestigial wing; they are dispersed by the Mexican jay
The Mexican jay (''Aphelocoma wollweberi'')
Etymology: ''Aphelocoma'', from Latinized Ancient Greek ''apheles-'' (from ἀφελής-) "simple" + Latin ''coma'' (from Greek ''kome'' κόμη) "hair", in reference to the lack of striped or banded ...
, 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. Abert's squirrel
Abert's squirrel or the tassel-eared squirrel (''Sciurus aberti'') 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 fo ...
also feeds on the seeds in preference to those of the ponderosa pine
''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 ...
.
File:Pinus cembroides - foliage.jpg, Foliage
File:Pinus cembroides.jpg, Detail of foliage, cones
File:Big Bend National Park PB122661.jpg, Tree
History
Mexican pinyon was the first pinyon pine
The pinyon or piñon pine group grows in southwestern North America, especially in New Mexico, 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 ...
described, named by Zuccarini in 1832. Many of the other pinyon pines have been treated as varieties
Variety may refer to:
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* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
or subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
of it at one time or another in the past, but research in the last 10–50 years has shown that most are distinct species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
. Some botanists still include Johann's pinyon
''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 Sie ...
and Orizaba pinyon
''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.Baile ...
in Mexican pinyon; the former accounts for records of "Mexican pinyon" in southern Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
and New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
.
Mexican pinyon is a relatively non-variable species, with constant morphology over the entire range except for the disjunct population in the Sierra de la Laguna pine-oak forests of Baja California Sur; this is generally treated as a subspecies, ''Pinus cembroides'' subsp. ''lagunae'', although some botanists treat it as a separate species, ''P. lagunae.'' This subspecies differs from the type in having slightly longer leaves, between and and longer, narrower cones, up to long.
The seeds are widely collected in Mexico, being the main edible pine nut
Pine nuts, also called piñón (), pinoli (), pignoli or chilgoza (), are the edible seeds of pines (family Pinaceae, genus ''Pinus''). According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, only 29 species provide edible nuts, while 20 are trade ...
in the region. While palatable when raw, their flavor is considered to be improved when roasted.
References
*
External links
*
*
Photos of ''Pinus cembroides'' tree and foliage
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3506511
Cembroides
Trees of Mexico
Trees of the Southwestern United States
Trees of the South-Central United States
Trees of Baja California Sur
Trees of temperate climates
North American desert flora
Drought-tolerant trees
Edible nuts and seeds
Plants used in Native American cuisine
Least concern flora of North America
Least concern biota of Mexico
Least concern flora of the United States
Flora of the Sierra Madre Occidental
Flora of the Sierra Madre Oriental