Notes from a Lecture on Pine Trees

On Tuesday evening, March 23, the first AZNPS meeting had Brad Blake from the NAU Greenhouses as a speaker. His department was responsible for raising trees for the Rodeo-Chediski Fire area - "Trees for the Rim". Many master gardeners participated in that project. His talk on Tuesday was about 10 pine trees that can be found in Arizona. The US has 35 different speciies and Mexico has 47. The only state with more than Arizona is California with 17 species.

Pines in Arizona:
*Ponerosa - Pinus ponderosa
---State tree of Montana - 3 needle - 150 ft. tall - 3-4 foot diameter - 300/500 years
*Single Needle Pinyon - Pinus monophylla
---Variety of the mexican Pinyon
*Bristlecone - Pinus aristata
---5 needle pine, similar to limber pine but cones are smaller and have incurved prickles or bristles on the tips of the cone scales. Rings counted to 4,600 years. The pines in CA, NV and UT a separate species Pinus Longaeva
*Limber - Pinus flexilis
---Needles bunched at the end of the twigs unlike the bristlecone. Branches are limber which is an advantage at high elevations with winds and heavy snows. Ground and red squirrels, chipmuns, pinyon jays and magpies eat the seeds, and mule deer, elk and mose brouse its foliage
*Chihuahua -Pinus leiophylla var. chihuahuana
---Relatively small pine 35-50 feet and 2 feet in diameter. 3 needles pale waxy green and 2-4 inches long. Cones 1.5 to 2.5 inches long and light chestnut brown. They stay on the tree for years. Can be found in the Chihuahuan National Monument in Southern Arizona
*Pinyon - Pinus edulis
---New Mexico's state tree. Often has a crooked trunk, no more than 35 feet tall, 100-150 years, 6-10 inches in diameter. Chunky cones with pinyon nuts, pitchy fragrant firewood.
*Five Needle Ponderosa - Pinus ponderosa var. arizonica
---5 needle pine has shorter cones and thinner needles
*Southern White - Pinus flexilis var. reflexa
---Strong reflexed tips of the cone scales. Pale blue green needles in bundles of 5 in 3-5 inch lengths unlike the limber pines 1.5 to 3 inches. Santa Rita Mts. of AZ.
*Border Pinyon - Pinus cembroides (Mexican Pinyon)
---Has 3 needles from 1-2 inches long. Cones are irregular and stubby. Seeds are sold in markets throughout the SW. Largest of the pinyon nuts. Can be up to 20 feet high and 250-350 years old.
*Apache - Pinus engelmannii
---Occurs in SE Arizona. Similar to the poderosa (3 needle) but very long needles. 250-500 years, 50-60 feet tall and 3 feet through. Bark darker than the ponderosa and needle lighter green.

Not all can be found in the Flagstaff area. Many are only seen in the southern part of the state. On Sunday, Brad Blake will be doing a tour of the NAU greenhouse. You will learn about all the projects that they are involved in.

He also suggested taking a tour of the campus Arboretum. NAU has a brochure with a map of all the trees that are part of that. There are three different walks with a variety of trees (native and non-native) that grow in the Flagstaff area. Brochures are available or check on-line at www.nau.edu/arboretum.