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The pinyon pine was chosen as the state tree of New Mexico by a women’s club organization, and is sold commercially as a Christmas tree. It produces pine nuts that attract wildlife, and its wood is used for charcoal, heat, railway sleepers, and mine shoring. The tree is susceptible to dwarf mistletoe, which can damage and kill it.
The pinyon pine, the state tree of New Mexico, was chosen as the state symbol by a women’s club organization. The Federation of Women’s Clubs recommended indigenous pine to the legislature, and legislators agreed with the selection, passing a law in 1949 to make the designation official. Its scientific name is Pinus edulis. Two needle pinyon is another name for it, and it is also called piñon pine, twoleaf pinyon, New Mexico pinyon, mesa pinyon, Colorado pinyon, nut pine, and common pinyon.
At Christmas time, the New Mexico State Tree is one of the types of trees sold commercially for use as a Christmas tree in homes and stores in many places. It is not a fast growing tree and its shape is rounded, making it a good tree for the holiday tradition. In its natural habitat, which includes a dry mountain climate, it grows to between 15 feet (4.57 meters) and 35 feet (10.66 meters) tall. It is not unusual to see 400-year-old pinyon pines, and a few specimens have been found that are estimated to be around 1,000 years old.
Some years, when the tree produces an extra crop of seeds, called pine nuts, the New Mexico state tree will attract a corresponding number of wildlife to its branches, including bears and birds that will feed on the nuts. People today enjoy eating these nuts, as do the Native Americans who resided in the region. A large seed crop is not produced every year, but can occur every four years or even every seven years. These large seed crops are usually produced by more mature trees that have reached 75 years of age or older.
The New Mexico state tree is a small tree compared to other trees whose wood is used for lumber and other purposes, so its uses are limited. Wood is sometimes used to make charcoal, and is frequently used as a heat source because it gives off a pleasant scent and a good amount of heat. It is also used for railway sleepers and for shoring up mines.
Dwarf mistletoe, a flowering pest, prefers to attach itself to these pines. It can be found on pinyon pines in New Mexico, California, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, and Texas. It also grows on other types of pines, but not as frequently as on pinyon pine. Dwarf mistletoe can damage these trees and causes something called witches’ brooms, which are abnormally shaped collections of branches. The pest can stunt the growth of a tree and can lead to the death of the tree.
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