Pinus edulis (Pinyon Pine)

Pinus edulis Engelm.

Pinus cembroides Zucc. var. edulis (Engelm.) Voss

Pinyon Pine, Two-needle Pinyon, Piñon

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Coniferophyta	Conifers—cone-bearing trees (and a few shrubs)
Class	Pinopsida	Gymnosperms such as cedars, Douglas-firs, cypresses, firs, junipers, kauri, larches, pines, hemlocks, redwoods, spruces, and yews
Order	Pinales	Cone-bearing plants: cedar, cypress, fir, juniper, larch, pine, redwood, spruce, yew, and others
Family	Pinaceae	Pine family: cedars, firs, hemlocks, larches, pines and spruces
Genus	Pinus	Latin for “pine”
Species	edulis	“Edible,” since the nuts in the cones are edible

About plant names...

Pinyon (piñon) pines are natives of the western United States. Pinyon and Juniper forests have spread throughout many regions in the American southwest.

Identification: Trees are typically about 10-20' (3-6.1 m) tall. The crown is dense, conical or rounded. Typically there are two blue-green needles per group, but sometimes 1 or 3. Needles are upwardly curved, about 1¼" (3.2 cm) long. Needles have 2 or 3 sides, depending on the number of needles in the group. Cones are oval to round, yellowish to red-brown, up to 1¼" (3.2 cm) around. Pinyon pines favor dry mountain slopes and plateaus, at elevations of 4921-6890' (1.5-2.1 km), rarely up to 1.7 mi (2.7 km).

For further information, see the Pinus comparison tables.

Online References:

Pinus edulis on The Gymnosperm Database

Pinus edulis on Wikipedia

Pinus edulis on CalPhotos

Pinus edulis on Wikimedia Commons

Pinus edulis on the USDA Forest Service's Fire Effects Information Database

Pinus edulis at the Virginia Tech Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation

Pinus edulis at the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service

Pinus edulis on Plants for a Future, a resource and information centre for edible and otherwise useful plants

Pinus edulis on Vascular Plants of the Gila Wilderness

Pinus edulis from the Jepson Manual