New Mexico State Tree – Piñon Tree – Pinus edulis
Piñon Tree Pinaceae Pinus edulis
Leaf: Usually two needles per fascicle. Needles are coarse, thick, curved,
blue-green or yellow-green, stiff, and one to two inches long.
Leaf: Usually two needles per fascicle. Needles are coarse, thick, curved,
blue-green or yellow-green, stiff, and one to two inches long.
Flower: Monoecious; males red, cylindrical, in clusters near ends of branches;
females purplish at branch tips.
Fruit: Cones are ovoid, 2 inches long, short-stalked, brown in color, with
very thick cone scales. Each scale contains two very large edible “pine nuts”.
Maturing in September and October.
Twig: Stout and orange-brown, somewhat scraggly.
Bark: Scaly or with small plates, red -brown to gray.
Form: A small tree with an irregular rounded crown.
Copyright 2019 Virginia Tech Dept. of Forest Resources and Environmental
Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen,
Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson;Silvics reprinted from Ag
Handbook 654; range map source information
Conservation; Photos and text by: John Seiler, Edward Jensen,
Alex Niemiera, and John Peterson;Silvics reprinted from Ag
Handbook 654; range map source information