The Mexican pinyon is a smallish, slow growing, usually 20 to 30 foot tree that is conical in youth, but develops a rounded crown in maturity. The sweeping branches tend to shade the trunk all the way down to the ground. It thrives in semi-arid areas with rocky, gravely, dry soil.
It grows in mixed oak-juniper forest, among scrub oak, or widely spaced on dry rocky slopes. The major part of its range is in mountain Mexico, at altitudes from about 2,000 to 8,000 feet. There it grows in the dry folds of the Sierra Madre Oriental and the Sierra Madre Occidental.
One possible subspecies, which may in fact be a different species entirely, is found high in the states of Puebla and Veracruz. Pinus cembroides orizabensis, also called the Orizaba Pinyon, which grows at a greater altitude than the typical Mexican pinyon, tolerates a great deal of moisture.
Another subspecies, or possibly species, is found in the biosphere preserve of the Sierra de la Laguna near the tip of Baja California. These trees are the subspecies P. cembroides ssp. lagunae.
Johann’s pinyon is a related species, which grows near the Mexican pinyon, but spreads its pollen later in summer, so that the two species do not hybridize. Its needles grow in bundles of three or four, while the Mexican pinyon’s grow in bundles of two or three.
The Potosi Pinyon appears as a shrub in a small area of the Sierra Madre Oriental. Clinging to the highest peaks, it grows in moist and cool conditions. It carries its needles five to a bundle.
The Remote Pinyon, also called the papershell pinyon, is found in Texas. Closely related to the Mexican pinyon, it grows on dry rocky alkaline soil, and is the most heat and drought tolerant of all pinyons. Its nuts have the thinnest shells of all pinyons, hence its allusive name. It has two needles per bundle.
The typical Mexican pinyon has blue green toothed needles that are 1 to 1.5 inches long and held in bundles of two or three. The small, round, yellow to red brown cones are about 2 inches long, and they drop in the fall.
Pinyon pinenuts support chipmunks and squirrels, wild turkeys, parrots, black bears, and porcupines, as well as other small mammals. Clark’s nutcrackers and Mexican jays eat and disperse the seeds. The rich, sweet tasting chocolate brown nuts are also gathered up to be sold throughout the marketplaces of northern Mexico.
Pinenuts from the Mexican pinyon and other pinyons are grown and harvested commercially as well as gathered from the wild. Mexican pinyon nuts are considered less choice than some other pinenuts because of their hard seed coat. However, they are highest in protein of the commercially grown pinenuts.
Mexican pinyons are sometimes also cultivated for Christmas trees. They require relatively little water, and have a naturally dense and conical habit when young. They are not grown for lumber, though the soft wood may be used for fuel and fence posts.
The Mexican pinyon and its relatives are beautifully adapted to their environment. They provide cover for game, food for animals and people, and a multiplicity of species and subspecies for botanists to dispute.
