| Pinus cembroides | |
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| Mexican pinyon inSierra de Organos National Park,Sombrerete | |
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. cembroides |
| Binomial name | |
| Pinus cembroides Zucc., 1832 | |
| Subspecies[3] | |
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| Natural range | |
| Synonyms[4][5] | |
List
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Pinus cembroides, also known aspinyon pine,[6]Mexican pinyon,[6]Mexican nut pine,[6] andMexican stone pine,[6] is apine in thepinyon pine group.
It is a small pine growing to about 20 m (66 ft) with a trunk diameter of up to 50 cm (20 in). It is native to westernNorth America. It grows in areas with low levels of rainfall and its range extends southwards fromArizona,Texas andNew Mexico in the United States into Mexico. It typically grows at altitudes between 1,600 and 2,400 m (5,200 and 7,900 ft).
The seeds are large and form part of the diet of theMexican jay andAbert's squirrel. They are also collected for human consumption, being the most widely usedpine nut in Mexico.
Pinus cembroides is a small to medium-sizetree, reaching 8 to 20 metres (26 to 66 ft) tall and with a trunk diameter of up to 50 centimetres (20 in). The bark is dark brown, thick and deeply fissured at the base of the trunk. Theleaves ('needles') are in mixed pairs and threes, slender, 3 cm (1+1⁄4 in) to6 cm (2+1⁄4 in) long, and dull yellowish green, withstomata on both inner and outer surfaces.
Thecones are globose,3 cm (1+1⁄4 in) to4 cm (1+1⁄2 in) 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 to4 cm (1+1⁄2 in) to 5 cm (2 in) broad when mature, holding theseeds on the scales after opening. The seeds are10 mm (3⁄8 in) to12 mm (1⁄2 in) long, with a thick shell, a pinkendosperm, and a vestigial2 mm (1⁄16 in) wing.[citation needed]
Mexican pinyon was the firstpinyon pine described, named byZuccarini in 1832. Many of the other pinyon pines have been treated asvarieties orsubspecies 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. Some botanists still includeJohann's pinyon andOrizaba pinyon in Mexican pinyon; the former accounts for records of "Mexican pinyon" in southernArizona andNew Mexico.
Mexican pinyon is a relatively non-variable species, with constant morphology over the entire range except for thedisjunct population in theSierra 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, between4 cm (1+1⁄2 in) and7 cm (2+3⁄4 in) and longer, narrower cones, up to5.5 cm (2+1⁄4 in) long.[citation needed]
The range extends from westernmostTexas, United States (where it is restricted to theChisos andDavis Mountains), south through much of Mexico, occurring widely along theSierra Madre Oriental andSierra Madre Occidental ranges, and more rarely in the easternEje Volcánico Transversal range.[7] It lives in areas with little rainfall, which fluctuates between 380 to 640 mm (15 to 25 in).
The subspeciesPinus orizabensis (orizabensis) is found farther south in the state ofVeracruz. There is also a disjunct population in theSierra de la Laguna of southernBaja California Sur. It occurs at moderate altitudes, mostly from 1,600 to 2,400 m (5,200 to 7,900 ft), which some authorities consider a separate species (P. lagunae).[citation needed]
The seeds are dispersed by theMexican 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.Abert's squirrel also feeds on the seeds in preference to those of theponderosa pine.[8]
It is a common pine with a wide range and theInternational Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".
The seeds are widely collected in Mexico, being the main ediblepine nut in the region. While palatable when raw, their flavor is considered to be improved when roasted.[9]
Authority control databases: National |
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