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Pinyon pine4/2/2023 ![]() These and many other birds all rely on the pine for vital nutrients and shelter. Some such creatures are the Pinyon jay and Clark’s nutcracker. Like many other pines, the Pinyon is crucial to the survival of several woodland animals. These denser seeds are often buried by animals or naturally make their way deep into the soil, allowing them to take root quickly and easily. These nuts are not only good for eating they have an easier time germinating and growing than the smaller, lighter seeds of other similar trees. These nuts provided sustenance and nutrition for the Natives, even during the harsh winters when other food sources were scarce. The Pinyon pines produce one of the main edible nuts grown on Colorado conifers. Many people actually took the pitch from these trees and made a kind of glue or caulk to hold things together. This was not the only use they found for the Pinyons. ![]() Some tribes put the pines to use when creating their dwellings on the cliffs of the Mesa. These trees were often used by the Natives to build their homes. Many times, this tree, because it is so short compared to other conifers, grows wider than tall, with radii of sometimes more than 15 feet. This specific Pinyon usually only reaches between 20 and 30 feet, but can grow to an astonishing 400-plus years old. Although, the one most common to Colorado is the New Mexico Pine, also known as the two-needle pine. Pinyon pines come in three different varieties. One of the slower growing trees in the area, this one can take up to a hundred years to produce even one cone. This particular breed is quite easy to recognize from the short appearance and round shape. Most recently, because of global climate change, widespread drought is making the trees susceptible to bark beetle infestations, resulting in a massive die-off of up to 80% of Pinyon-Juniper woodlands in certain areas.The Pinyon pine is one of the many conifers that line the forests, mountains, plains, and lowlands of the state of Colorado. Entire woodlands have been ripped down using giant chains pulled by heavy machinery, seen by many as an act of major ecological and cultural vandalism. During the last and current century, millions of hectares of productive Pinyon Pine woodlands have been destroyed due to conversion of land for livestock grazing on both private and public lands. In the 1800s, hundreds of thousands of acres were deforested to supply charcoal for mining, smelting, and the railroad industry. Threats and Conservation: There have been many threats to the survival of the Pinyon Pine. It is harvested commercially and non-commercially for pine nuts. Modern Uses: For modern industrial civilization, the wood has been exploited for charcoal, railroad crossties, lumber, fence posts, and even pulpwood. The wood was also burned to cure animal hide leather for bags and tepee coverings (Mountain Ute).Īrt and Ceremony: The sap was placed on hot coals to purify themselves after a funeral (Hopi, Tewa), the sap was also burned for other ceremonial purposes (Navajo). Tools and Objects:The sap was used for waterproofing baskets and clay vessels, and later as glue for jewelry. The burning sap was inhaled for colds (Ramah Navajo).įood: Pine nuts were a staple food (Piute, Washoe, Great Basin Shoshone). Medicine:Smoke from the burning needles was inhaled for colds (Mescalero Apaches). Dianthidium bees use the sticky resin to help construct nests. Jays and nutcrackers have been responsible for much of the redistribution and regeneration of the trees, caching them in the ground miles away from their original homes. Among these consumers are mice, chipmunks, squirrels, deer, bears, bighorn sheep, rodents, and birds. (2.8 m) in circumference.Īnimal Community: This pine is an important habitat and food source to a variety of desert-dwellers, including virtually any animal capable of cracking and digesting the nuts. Common in desert shrublands and juniper-pinyon woodlands, along with Single-Leaf Pinyon Pines. (1,402–2,987 m).Įcosystem: Arid, rocky flats or slopes, canyons, and some riparian zones. (4.5 cm), and lack prickles.ĭistribution: Native to the Mojave Desert, Colorado Plateau, and the Great Basin Desert widespread and abundant in Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona, with sparse populations in Nevada, southwestern California, Wyoming, Texas, and Mexico. Short bright-green or blue-green needles are bunched in twos, to distinguish it from its Single-Leaf cousin. ![]() In mature trees, the dark-gray brown bark with reddish patches is furrowed with rough, scaly ridges. Other Names: Colorado pinyon, Mesa pine, Piñon pine.ĭistinctive Characteristics: The Two-Needle Pinyon is a common desert conifer of the southwest U.S.
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