January 2013 10
Colorado Pinon
Many southwestern residents are familiar with the Pinon pine. The edible nuts have been eaten for thousands of years, and bags of Pinon nuts can be bought at the side of the road in New Mexico, or ordered online. This scraggly tree is a cherished symbol of the southwest, and is even the official state tree of New Mexico. There are variations on the spelling of Pinon; the actual Spanish spelling is pinon (the n should have a tilde above it, but that is not possible in this publication). The popular Americaized spelling is pinyon, and I have
also seen it spelled pinion. I prefer the
Spanish form, but pinyon is easier to
write. The Colorado Pinon's scientific
name is pinus edulis; edulis means edible
in Latin. The tree is sometimes called the
Two-needle Pinon; The trees are found in
most of New Mexico, Utah, southwest
Colorado, Northwest Arizona, and far
west Texas. A few of these trees are
scattered in California, Nevada, Wyoming
and Oklahoma. A southwest winter
scene would not be complete without
the lovely smell of Pinon smoke drifting
through the crisp air. Colorado Pinons
can reach 50 feet tall, and are drought tolerant and cold hardy. The Colorado Pinon is available at some nurseries, but can be hard to find. A Colorado Pinon in Utah was discovered to be 973 years old; trees older than 750 years can be found if they have escaped the reaches of wildfire and 20th century ranchers.
jotor at Flickr