Pinus cembroides

Pinus cembroides
Mexican pinyon in Sierra de Organos National Park, Sombrerete

Apparently Secure  (NatureServe)
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
  • P. cembroides subsp. cembroides
  • P. cembroides subsp. orizabensis D.K.Bailey
Natural range
Synonyms
List
    • Pinus cembroides var. llaveana (Schiede ex Schltdl.) Voss (1907)
    • Pinus cembroides var. orizabensis (D.K.Bailey) Silba (1990)
    • Pinus llaveana Schiede ex Schltdl. (1838)
    • Pinus orizabensis (D.K.Bailey) D.K.Bailey & Hawksw. (1992)
    • Pinus osteosperma Engelm. (1848)

Pinus cembroides, also known as pinyon pine, Mexican pinyon, Mexican nut pine, and Mexican stone pine, is a pine in the pinyon 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 western North America. It grows in areas with low levels of rainfall and its range extends southwards from Arizona, Texas and New 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 the Mexican jay and Abert's squirrel. They are also collected for human consumption, being the most widely used pine nut in Mexico.