Scientific Family
Pinaceae
Synonyms
Pinus cembroides
Plant type
Trees
Riparian
No
Plant Description
Origin
Native
Similar species
Pinus monophylla
Upright and compact with a symmetrical shape, rounded crown and single trunk. After many decades most pinyons lose their lower branches. Slow grower. A tree with a 10 inch trunk may be 100 to 150 years old.
Short trunk with a pyramidal or round-topped crown. Needles nearly straight, mostly in bundles of 2, sometimes in bundles of 3 or solitary.
Height
35 feet
Width
25 feet
Habitat
Habitat description
Found on dry slopes and flats.
Plant Community
Montane Conifer Forest
Pinyon Juniper Woodlands
Low elevation
4000
High elevation
7000
Leaves
Leaf color
Dark green
Leaf type
Needles
Leaf shape
Other
Leaf margin
Other
Leaf hairs
None
Spines
No
Leaf Drop
Evergreen
Needles in bundles of mostly 2 (sometimes 1 or 3) to 2 inches long. Each needle is stiff, pointed and curved towards the branch.
Flowers
Tubular
No
Gymnosperm, not a flowering plant.
Fruit
Fruit color
Brown
Fruit type
Cone or cone-like
Egg shaped, thick and with blunt scales to 2 inches long. Female cones mature by September of the second year. Male and female cone on same tree.