Twoneedle Pinyon, Pinus edulis

About Twoneedle Pinyon (Pinus edulis) 4 Nurseries Carry This Plant

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The Colorado Pinyon, Two-needle Pinyon or Pion Pine (Pinus edulis) is a pine in the pinyon pine group whose ancestor was a member of the Madro-Tertiary Flora (a group of drought resistant trees) and is native to the United States. The range is in Colorado, southern Wyoming, eastern and central Utah, northern Arizona, New Mexico, and the Guadalupe Mountains in westernmost Texas. It occurs at moderate altitudes from 1600-2400 meter, rarely as low as 1400 meter and as high as 3000 meter. It is widespread and often abundant in this region, forming extensive open woodlands, usually mixed with junipers. The Colorado pinyon (pion) grows as the dominant species on 4.8 million acres (19,000 km) in Colorado, making up 22% of the state's forests. The Colorado pinyon has cultural meaning to agriculture, as strong pion wood "plow heads" were used to break soil for crop planting at the state's earliest known agricultural settlements. There is one known example of a Colorado Pinyon growing amongst Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmannii) and limber pine (Pinus flexilis) at nearly 3,170 meters (10,400 feet) on Kendrick Peak in the Kaibab National Forest of northern Arizona.

Plant Description

Plant Type

Tree

Size

25 - 50 ft tall

Form

Pyramidal

Growth Rate

Slow

Flower Color

Yellow

Flowering Season

Summer

Wildlife Supported

Butterflies & moths hosted ( 14 likely * ) SHOW ALL

White-lined Sphinx Hyles lineataHyles lineata

Brown-lined Looper Neoalcis californiariaNeoalcis californiaria

Red Girdle Moth Caripeta aequaliariaCaripeta aequaliaria

Sulphur Moth Hesperumia sulphurariaHesperumia sulphuraria

Western Carpet Melanolophia imitataMelanolophia imitata

Variable Girdle Moth Enypia venataEnypia venata

Sharp-Lined Yellow Sicya maculariaSicya macularia

Landscaping Information

Sun

Full Sun, Part Shade

Nurseries

Carried by 4

Ease of Care

Moderately Easy

Soil Drainage

Fast

Soil Description

Found in a variety of soils but often rocky or coarse, fast draining soil

Common uses

Bird Gardens

Propagation?

For propagating by seed: Fresh seeds need no treatment; stored seeds 2 mos. stratification; or soak in cold ( 40°F) water for 24 hrs. (USDA Forest Service 1974); or keep maximum germinating temperature below 73°F (Heit 1968a).

Natural Setting

Climate

Annual Precipitation: 6.3" - 23.0", Summer Precipitation: 1.56" - 3.09", Coldest Month: 38.8" - 50.1", Hottest Month: 61.5" - 75.2", Humidity: 3.94" - 27.91", Elevation: 3472" - 7587"

Alternative Names

Common Names: Colorado Pinyon

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Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links: Jepson eFlora Taxon Page CalPhotos Wikipedia Calflora

Twoneedle Pinyon

Pinus edulis

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Twoneedle PinyonPinus edulis

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Twoneedle Pinyon

Pinus edulis