Chihuahuan pine

This member of family Pinaceae grows to the height of 20–30 m with a trunk diameter of 35–80 cm. The needles are in bundles of three to five, 5–10 cm long, and are a bright glossy green to yellowish-green. The cones are ovoid, 4–7 cm long, and borne on a 1–2 cm long stalk; they are unusual in taking about 30–32 months to mature, a year longer than most other pines. The bark is gray-brownish, and fissured.

Pinus leiophylla is native to North America. Range may be expanded by planting. See states reporting Chihuahua pine (opens a new window). More

the relationship between that taxon and Pinus leiophylla was discerned by Shaw (1909). Some later authors (e.g. Martínez 1948) continued to discriminate the two species I puzzled about the differences between leiophylla and chihuahuana for several days as I criss-crossed the Sierra Madre Occidental, first heading east on Mex-16 from Hermosillo to Chihuahua and then back west on Mex-40 from Durango to Mazatlán, stopping in dozens of places to examine the two varieties. They form a cline. More