VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Pinus cembroides | Mexican Pinyon 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
Mexican pinyon is used for fuel, fenceposts, and small construction timbers,
but rarely for lumber [23,33,70,90].  The wood is soft, heavy, and
varies from fine- to coarse-grained [51,69,70].


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Mexican pinyon seeds are utilized by wildlife including Merriam's
turkey, thick-billed parrot, black bear, porcupine, squirrels,
chipmunks, and other small mammals and birds [9,23,29,46,69,90].
Collared peccary infrequently consume Mexican pinyon seeds from July to
September [22].

Cattle, goats, and mule deer browse Mexican pinyon [90,99].

In oak-juniper-pinyon woodland of southeastern Arizona, 36 breeding bird
species foraged for insects more on Mexican pinyon and Chihuahua pine
needles than would have been expected from random foraging patterns [4].


PALATABILITY : 
NO-ENTRY


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
Mexican pinyon seeds have the highest amounts of protein of the pinyons.
Its seeds are approximately 19 percent protein, 60 percent fat, and 14
percent carbohydrates [47].


COVER VALUE : 
Mexican pinyon groves and pinyon-juniper associations furnish cover for
wildlife such as white-tailed deer, pronghorn, rock squirrel, mountain
cottontail, mice, ringtail, and common hog-nosed skunk [19,39,46,47].


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
Mexican pinyon was 1 of 38 pine species tested in planting trials on
sandhills in northwestern Florida.  Mexican pinyon did not survive [12].




OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
The oily and edible Mexican pinyon seeds are an important food source in
the southwestern United States and in Mexico [23,40,43, 51,53,69].
Seeds are harvested by native Americans and commercial pickers in the
fall after the cones open [43,53].  Mexican pinyon and other pinyons
have been harvested commercially for about 50 years; Mexican pinyon
seeds are primarily marketed in Mexico [28,51].  Mexican pinyon seeds
are less preferred than those of other pinyons due to the hard seedcoat [47].

Mexican pinyon has been used as an ornamental in the United States since
1830 [44,53,101].  It is cultivated for Christmas trees [28,40,53].

Mexican pinyon resin is used to waterproof and cement pots, baskets, and
jewelery [47,90].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Mexican pinyon and the woodlands it occurs in have been examined for
production potential, silvicultural practices, utilization, and
alternative products [2,25,28,60,76].  Seed-tree and shelterwood cutting
do not usually work well for Mexican pinyon due to harsh site conditions
[34,78].  Individual tree and group selection cutting has been
successful in some pinyon-juniper woodlands [78].  Volume equations have
been derived for Mexican pinyon assessment [15].

Grazing occurs in most pinyon-juniper woodlands [47].  Grazing removes
young Mexican pinyon leader shoots; Mexican pinyon recovers by growing
from lateral buds [29].  Conversion of natural pinyon-juniper woodlands
in which Mexican pinyon occurs to grasslands has resulted in the
destruction of mature trees on a few hundred thousand acres [53].
Despite the report by Little [53] that he had never seen evidence of
pinyons invading grasslands, the pinyon-juniper type is reported to have
invaded surrounding communities, including grasslands, for the past 50
to 80 years [8].  In Arroyo Ancho of Chihuahua, Mexico, 5- to 7-year-old
Mexican pinyon had invaded an area dominated by oaks and grasses [29].

Mexican pinyon should be considered for reforestation projects in arid
and semiarid areas.  It normally produces useful products such as fuel
and food under these climate conditions [70].

Mexican pinyon is susceptible to pinyon blister rust (Cronartium
occidentale) and pinyon dwarf mistletoe (Arceuthobium divaricatum).
Mexican pinyon infected by pinyon dwarf mistletoe has reduced growth
rates, reduced seed production, increased mortality, and is predisposed
to infection by other pests [35,91]. 

Related categories for Species: Pinus cembroides | Mexican Pinyon