The WOOD is relatively soft, close-grained, slightly yellowish or reddish. It is not cut in quantity and the trees are usually rather limby and short-bodied, which largely accounts for the small commercial use.
PINYON ([Nut] Pine)
Pinus edulis Engelm.
Pinyon is found as scattered trees or in small groves over the mountains and canyons in the western part of the state to elevations of 8,000 feet. It is a small tree, grows on warm slopes or in sheltered locations, and forms a bushy top with orange-colored branchlets.
The needle-like LEAVES grow in bundles of two (rarely 3); whereas in Pinus cembroides Zucc., the Mexican Pinyon, there are usually three needles per cluster. The dark green needles are approximately one inch long, stiff, stout, and curved. They remain on the tree from 5 to 8 years.
PINYON (Natural size)
Like all the pines, it has male and female “FLOWERS” separate on the same tree. The “[FRUIT]”, a cone, is rounded, about 1 to 2 inches across, and produces large seeds or “[nuts]”, from ½ to ¾ inch long. The seeds are rich in food value and form an important article of diet for the Indians. The seeds are gathered and sold widely as fancy “nuts” in many larger towns and cities.
The WOOD is light, soft, close-grained, and pale brown, used for fuel and sometimes as fencing. A close relative P. cembroides is found scattered in the Texas cedar breaks.
PONDEROSA PINE (Western Yellow Pine)
Pinus ponderosa Laws.
Ponderosa pine is the most important commercial pine of the Southwest and many parts of the Rocky Mountain region. It reaches the southeastern limit of its range in the Guadalupe and Davis Mountains of West Texas where it is scattered and of little commercial value. It is favored as an ornamental in the Texas Panhandle.