New Mexico's state tree.

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I never expected to find any kind of Pinyon Pine in northeast Illinois, but Morton Arboretum did have two specimens in their Conifer Collection that I came upon them in November of 2019. I thought the more humid climate would be too much for these western plants. I have seen this Two-leaved Pinyon Pine on the mountain slopes of northern Arizona in 1970 and then in 1992. This is the most abundant species of four different species of Pinyon Pine in the southwestern US and Mexico. This specific species is native to dry mountain slopes, mesas, and plateaus of northern Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and some areas nearby that, even a little into Mexico. The bluish-green needles of this species is mostly in 2's, but can have some singly or in 3's and about 0.8 to 1.6 inches long. The tree grows 20 to 65 feet high with a dense, conic-rounded crown. The bark is red-brown and is shallowly and irregularly furrowed with rounded scaly ridges. The short, fat cones about 1.4 to 2 inches long and wide have thick scales and hold the large seeds deeply in the cones so that they do not fall out easily and are more available for birds to eat. The seeds are edible for humans too. It grows about 6 to 12 inches/year.

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