| General Description | Pinus cembroides is a medium sized evergreen conifer that is quite slow growing. It keeps its blue-green needles all year, produces cones in the spring and has ripened seeds in autumn. |
| ID Characteristic | This tree is identifiable by its upright and rounded shaped crown as well as its blue-dark green needles. It produces medium sized brown-red cones and the needles come in fascicles of 3. |
| Shape | This tree can be broad spreading and grows either upright or oval when it is juvenile. As it ages it grows more densely and has an overall cone shaped canopy which tends to be more rounded as well. |
| Landscape | The number one use for the Mexican Pinyon is its seeds. They are widely used as a food source in Mexico and around the world. Also in Mexico, the wood can be used for carpentry and when there is no other pine available the Mexican Pinyon can be used for timber as well. Furthermore, due to its ability to adapt to varying environmental conditions, it plays a big role in land management. A few examples are watershed protection, erosion prevention and it is used as shade in agroforestry. Due to its ability to grow well in poor growing conditions, this tree is also suitable for street and highway median planting as well. |
| Propagation | To propagate, collect the seeds as soon as they are ripe (if possible), if not collect in late winter. The best method for sowing is putting the seeds in individual pots and in a cold frame. They will need a stratification period of 6 weeks at a temperature of 4? C for the best results. Plant the seedlings where the tree is intended to stay and be sure that they are protected for their first two winters. Make sure the seedlings are planted when they are between 30-90 cm in size. Plant with mulch to help them establish. Propagation by cuttings is also an option but will only work with trees that are 10 years of age or younger.
To propagate from cutting, remove the needles from the bottom third of the cutting. Plant the cutting into a planting tray filled with mediums such as perlite, bark or moss mixed with coarse sand. Using rooting hormone dipped on the end is also an option. Moisten the planting tray until the medium is thoroughly moist but not soggy. Ensure that no needles are touching the soil. Cover the tray with plastic or a covering that can create a greenhouse effect. Place the tray in bright, indirect light and use a heating mat to speed up the root growing process if you wish. Keep the soil moist and remove the covering once new growth begins. This process can take up to a year so be patient. Once the cutting is well rooted it can be transferred to soil and it can continue to grow in soil until it is large enough to transplant into the ground. |
| Cultivation | Pinus cembroides is very tolerant to poor soil conditions but prefers well-draining, sandy or gravely loam soils. It can also thrive with either moist or dry soil and with soil that is either mildly acidic or neutral. It also does well in a protected area but will not grow well in complete shade and doesn’t necessarily need to be protected. Overall, it prefers full sun. It can also be an understory tree but only if the canopy above is wide spreading so light can still get through as it does prefer full sun. |
| Pests | Although typically pest and disease resistant, this tree has one main pest: The Pine Tip Moth. This moth will not kill the tree, but it does feed on the new growth, so it somewhat gives the tree a look as if it has been pruned. The time of year that this moth inflicts its damage is April-May. |
| Notable Specimens | The notable specimen can be found at Big Bend National Park, Chisos Basin Loop Trail at the Chisos Basin Campground in Brewster County, Texas, United States of America. |
| Habitat | This tree prefers a habitat that is hot and mountainous. It is tolerant to low soil quality and is usually found in shallow, rocky and gravelly soil. Although, it does prefer full sun and well-draining soil. It is also typically found growing amongst juniper and scrub oak. |
| Bark/Stem Description | The bark has red-brown to dark brown colour when young and it is susceptible to shallow furrows with broad ridges. The bark itself is scaly as well. As the tree matures the bark turns more gray or gray-brown. The branches have a slight droop to them but are not considered weeping and typically grow as single stemmed. |
| Flower/Leaf Bud Description | The leaf buds are either ovoid or short and cylindrical in shape. They are red-brown in colour and can be anywhere from 5-12 mm in length. They also tend to be slightly sticky as well due to their resin. |
| Leaf Description | The leaves for this tree are needles. They typically grow in groups of 3 but can sometimes be found in groups of 2 or 4. The needle’s formation is spread to upcurved and will stay on the tree for 4 to 5 years. The needles can be 2-6 cm in length and .6-.9 mm in width. They have 2-3 sides and have a blue to grey-dark green colour. The leaf margin is finely serrulate and the needles stay the same colour all throughout the year. |
| Flower Description | This tree produces cones as their flower, and they have pollen cones as well as seed cones. The pollen cones are ovoid in shape before they open and broadly depressed-ovoid to globose once they’ve opened. They can be anywhere from 1-3.5 cm in length and quite resinous. The cones are pale yellow or pale brown-red in colour and drop in autumn when they are mature. Seed cones are ellipsoid shaped, can be up to 10 mm in length and are yellow in colour. They also tend to come in whorls of three. ) This tree doesn’t start to produce cones until it is 25 years of age as well. The flower is produced in April-May and isn’t mature until autumn, around October. There are female and male flowers on the same plant, and it is pollinated by the wind. |
| Fruit Description | The fruit from this tree are the seeds from the cones. The seeds that are produced are 12-15 mm in length and ovoid to obovoid shaped. They are red-brown in colour when juvenile and wingless. Once they have matured, they are grey-black. The seeds have a coat/shell that are .5-1 mm thick, are quite hard, oily, and the endosperm is white. |
| Colour Description | The colour of this tree’s needles stays the same all throughout the year, but the bark, cones and seeds change based on season or age. It has blue-dark green needles, yellow or brown-red cones, red-brown to dark brown or gray to gray-brown coloured bark, and red-brown or gray-black seeds. |
| Texture Description | This tree has a fine texture and does not change over the seasons nor over the plant’s life. |