Medicinal Plants of the Mountain West

Piñon Pine: Tastiest tree in the Southwest

Euell Gibbons may have proclaimed the piñon nut “the most palatable wild food.”

As you approach Santa Fe, you may notice hillsides covered with shrubby piñon trees. Nothing quite says you are in the Southwest as the crisp air carrying the scent of piñon pine. The smell of it burning wafts across the plaza in downtown Santa Fe. Plenty of stores carry piñon pine specialties, like piñon brittle, candies, nuts roasted with chile, and piñon coffee.

This species features in the traditions, legends, and ceremonies of many Southwestern cultures as described in a 1930s pamphlet from the National Parks Service. It may have been a major source of protein for Native Americans, including the Utes. For a modern discussion of the significance of the piñon to the Apache, this short blog includes a video and mentions piñon branches as smudge sticks. According to the site Pinenut.com, the nuts have had an economic benefit to the Navajo and in the 1930’s provided “more than the combined value of both rugs and silver which they produced.”

Piñon pine, Pinus edulis, is also known as Colorado piñon, Pinyon, common pinyon, New Mexico pinyon, Colorado pinyon, mesa pinyon, two-leaf pinyon, two-needle pine, nut pine, Rocky Mountain pinon, and Pino dulce. The preferred spelling, piñon, is Spanish and is interchangeable with most of the variations above. Although the USDA shows the trees throughout the Southwest, other sources indicate they are found primarily in Colorado, Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico. This discrepancy could be related to the existence of related species such as the single-leaf piñon, Pinus monophylla. Sibley* and others note the various species hybridize, making identification difficult.

Pinus edulis, the state tree of New Mexico, are “bushy” trees. They are slow growing but long-lived, possibly living up to 1000 years. The oldest verified tree was dated at 973 years, while the largest is located near Santa Fe, NM. As an alternate name suggests, this pine has two leaves in a fascicle, with the needles usually between 0.6 and 2.0 inches in length. The cones of the piñon are small, about an inch in diameter, and very round.* This species may not produce any cones until the trees are a quarter century old, with good seed production not starting until the specimen is 75 to 100 years old. As the fertilized seeds are comparatively heavy and not disbursed far by the wind, the species is dependent on birds to sow the seeds. Four species are primarily involved in this task: Clark’s nutcracker, Steller’s jay, Mexican jay, and the pinyon jay.

Although the seeds are what this species is known for, it is hard to beat its wood for a fire. The aroma is distinctive and quite pleasant. According to many sources, it provides nearly as many BTUs as hardwoods and has been called the “hardwood of soft woods.” Unfortunately, most sources lump piñon in with other pines, which might make sense on the national level. The benefits of burning in areas where it is available should not be overlooked. It is often cited as the best wood for chimineas.

The sap, or pitch, of the piñon has been used by Native Americans in the Southwest for various tasks such as mending cracks in bowls, waterproofing baskets, and as an adhesive. The medical uses of piñon are, in general, lumped in with the properties of other pines. A tea of the needles is used to ward off scurvy** or for its expectorant effect***. The inner bark could be used to dress burns and other skin conditions. Piñon is said to have an antiseptic quality. These last two factors are why it is used to make natural salves today. Mother Earth News suggests the antiseptic qualities make it a good bathroom cleaner and air freshener.

Today the nuts themselves are the stars of the piñon tree. Multiple places proclaim their nutritional value, from saying they are as protein rich as beef, to suggesting they may be a good source of polyunsaturated and monosaturated oils.

My first encounter with piñon nuts involved the difficulty of shelling them. My friends who had gone to college in Santa Fe, insisted the best way to crack them was with your teeth. Although this method is okay if you are going to ingest them raw or roasted for yourself, the idea of cracking nuts with that method and cooking with them for others seemed objectionable to me!

According to an undated article in New Mexico Magazine, a secret shelling machine was invented by the founder of Buffett’s, an Albuquerque mainstay since 1956. The article also states you can purchase shelled piñon from them but I was not able to find any for sale on their site at this time, shelled or not. You ARE still able to buy piñon candy from them, including piñon brittle.

Numerous sites discuss the differences between “hard shell” nuts, those which are from Pinus edulis, and the soft shell nuts, Pinus monophylla, or Nevada nuts. The nuts of Pinus monophylla are larger, more resinous, and not considered as tasty. Euell Gibbons may have proclaimed the piñon nut “the most palatable wild food.” Many websites warn against buying Nevada nuts when you are after piñons. The New Mexico Piñon Nut Company ships nuts. Pinenut.com explained the 2021 supply is limited as the quarantine kept pickers out of the trees.

Not only the Native American population of the Southwest harvests piñon; many Hispanic families also gather the nuts in the fall. In many areas of New Mexico you see cars parked along the interstate and people scurrying amongst the trees. Harvesting your own nuts is the most economical. Although it is legal to gather nuts for your personal use in certain areas, it is best to know the laws. Some people shake the trees to remove the nuts or cones, but the traditional method is to pick off the ground as seen in this short video. Less traditional methods of picking and preparing nuts are discussed in this article where the author suggests breaking open the nuts with a rolling pin.

Although most articles mention eating the pine nuts raw or roasted, recipes for their use abound. Fancy recipes such as pine nut soup, pine-encrusted pork, and a chocolate tart are including in this article from New Mexico Magazine. A number of recipes including candy and cookies can be found here. Native American Feast Day cookies feature piñons.

The piñon pine has also been used as a Christmas tree, living or cut. As is true for other features of the piñon, most lists of best trees for Christmas neglect to mention the species. New Mexico State University recommends them as having a good shape and says they are easily available for residents to cut. Every once in a while another publication will mention this conifer as a holiday possibility such as this bulletin from Washington state, which seems a bit out of their natural range!

A recent article discusses threats against piñon nuts and the trees themselves: climate change and cheap imports from other countries. Recent droughts have weakened the trees, which then are attacked by the ips, or bark, beetle. A study from California found higher temperatures decreased the viability of piñon pollen., while other studies have implicated heat death as the cause of the loss of between 40 and 80 percent of the trees. Not only are the trees and nuts endangered, but up to three quarters of the bird population may have disappeared in a decade.

Although it does little to solve the larger problem of the demise of the trees, it is still possible to use the logs as firewood if measures are made to destroy remaining beetles. In another glimmer of hope, the study mentioned above about the effect of heat, mentions a fungus that often grows with piñons may confer some drought protection.

By some reports nut harvests have decreased in yield by nearly seventy-five percent in less than fifty years. Indeed not all of the decline in piñon economy can be assigned to the change in climate. More than one article mentions the penchant for bulldozing trees in favor of ranchland or mineral and oil development as another factor leading to the decrease in productive piñons. The lower cost of imports doesn’t help the case for gathering the increasingly scare native product, either. In 2020-21 the cost of the nuts soared due to Covid-19 keeping pickers away.

In a 2014 publication, Rocky Mountain Forests at Risk, the authors discuss the importance of iconic trees in the Rockies and show possible scenarios related to drought, heat, and wildfire. They state the piñon-juniper woodlands are the most extensive type of forest land in the United States. They also mention piñons cultural significance as well as its role in water quality.

The Colorado pinyon (or piñon) pine in Fort Collin’s City Park

The Colorado pinyon (Pinus Edulis) can be found in City Park just northwest of Club Tico and across the road, near a power box. There are only two conifers in that area, and both appear to be piñon pines.

* David Allen Sibley, The Sibley Guide to Trees (Alfred A. Knopf, 2009, p.12)

**Linda Kershaw, Edible & Medicinal Plants of the Rockies (Lone Pine Publishing, 2000, p.36)

*** Michael Moore, Medicinal Plants of the Mountain West (Museum of New Mexico Press, 2003, p. 196)

Bristlecone Pine–Cursed Tree or one That Changed History?

They are slow growers and may add as little as one 1/100 an inch of girth in a year

There are two species of bristlecone pine, both native to the southwestern United States. Pinus aristata, known as the Rocky Mountain bristlecone, hickory pine, or Colorado bristlecone, grows in the mountains of Colorado, New Mexico, and Arizona.

Pinus longaeva, native to Utah, Nevada, and California, is called either Great Basin bristlecone or Intermountain bristlecone. Both species are long-lived, but the Intermountain Bristlecone holds the record as possibly the oldest living specimen on earth. At first glance the name bristlecone seems to be due to the small branches with their short, stiff leaves which cause them to look a bit like bottle brushes. A third moniker for the Colorado Bristlecone is foxtail pine due to branches resembling those of foxes.

Close up of a branch — Small branches looking somewhat like a bottle brush

Originally both species were classified as foxtail pines (Pinus balfouriana) but were reclassified in the 1800s and the two types of bristlecone were further distinguished in the the 1960s. The actual reason longaeva and aristata are called bristlecone pines is due to a bristle on the young cone.

Both species belong to the five-needled or white pine group of Pinus. In Colorado, bristlecones typically grow from an altitude of 8300 to 13000 feet (Ackerfield.**) At higher altitudes they are slow growers. According to one source they may add as little as 1/100th of girth in a year. Often bristlecones grow with both limber pines and Engelmann spruce and sometimes near treeline with common juniper. Their seeds are tiny. Unlike most other pine species, they are winged. The trees do not produce seeds until they are between ten and forty years old, but may continue to reproduce throughout their extremely long lives. Most references mention these evergreens retain their needles for many years, with one article stating the needles may persist for decades. Often the needles are sprinkled with white resin spots, making the tree look like it has suffered a case of dandruff.

Bristlecone closeup — Close up of a branchlet of a bristlecone pine

When discussing edibility or medicinal use of the bristlecone, sources such as Edible & Medicinal Plants of the Rockies (Kershaw, Linda, 2000) and Medicinal Plants of the Mountain West (Moore, Michael, 2003) tend to lump them in with other five-needled pines. Both sources mention pine needle teas to enjoy or use for coughs and fevers. Both sources warn an excess of the tea may be detrimental, especially to pregnant women. Pines may also provide resin and be used for firewood, although in national parks, all bristlecone pines are protected.

Dirr and Warren* mention the bristlecone for the landscape, especially in dry areas with poor soil. They do need full sun and are usually sold as cultivars. In the yard they may have the look of whimsical holiday trees. At higher altitudes they have the appearance of large pieces of misplaced driftwood.

Although Pinus aristata has evolved numerous survival mechanisms, and the ability to adapt to hardships may be part of the secret to its longevity, climate change may be playing a part in new dangers to these old trees. In the early 2000s, bristlecone pines were documented to have died from mountain pine beetle infestations. White pine blister rust and dwarf mistletoe are also known to endanger these long-lived trees.

A Pinus longaeva specimen known as Prometheus was counted as nearing 4900 years when it was cut down by graduate student Don Currey. There are various stories about how exactly this tree was destroyed with the exact facts in dispute. A full reckonning of the acrimony and confusion surrounding the Great Basin bristlecone pine designated as WPN-114 has many facets of today’s fights about climate change. To make the death of this tree a greater tragedy, when the pith of the tree was sent to the University of Arizona’s Laboratory of Tree Ring Research after Don Currey’s death, a more precise dating of the tree was determined. Now some estimate Prometheus may have been 5100 years old.

In a piece developed for Radiolab, the hosts play a recording of Don Currey telling part of the story of WPN-114’s demise. The piece on Prometheus begins around 15:00 minutes. Although interesting, there appears to be at least one mistake in the update. Prometheus lived in the Snake Mountains in what is now Great Basin National Park, while the White Mountains and the disputed new oldest tree is in California.

In 2014 the artist Jeff Weiss produced an exhibit, or as he calls it “a thing,” to mark the 50th anniversary of the cutting down of this great tree. (There is a film about this “thing” discussing the history of the tree and the art; the story starts around 9:48. Although the information is overall interesting, there are a lot of extraneous comments.)

Another Pinus longaeva, Methuselah, is a mere fifty years younger and still living. And a third, even older tree is rumored to have been located by the same man (Edmund Shulman) who found Methuselah, but this has not been verified. The tree is said to be living in an undisclosed area of the White Mountains and was 5067 years old in 2019. The oldest Rocky Mountain bristlecone, which is located in Colorado, is a mere 2436 (in 2020) years of age.

According to the Gymnosperm Database, the largest specimen of Pinus aristata is located in New Mexico. The tree may be of dwarf stature at high elevations but may reach 40′ at lower altitudes. The 2018 champion tree in Colorado was found in the San Isabel forest and reached a height of 59′, about twenty feet higher than the next candidate. Lower altitude trees may not reach the great ages of their counterparts closer to treelike. They may become victims of heart-rot, decreasing their longevity to around 300 years.

Bristlecone bark — Bark of the Rocky Mountain Bristlecone Pine

The Rocky Mountain bristlecone’s relative, the Great Basin bristlecone pine has also played a part in calibrating carbon dating techniques and helped correct the historical record. This was done by overlapping tree ring patterns from living tree core samples and intact patterns of deadwood. This technique has enabled dendrochronologists, archeologists, and historians to examine climatic and other patterns over 10,000 years and has earned the Intermountain bristlecone pine the moniker the Tree that Rewrote History. Here is a link to a 2009 poetic documentary, The Oldest Tree on Earth: The Curse of the Methuselah Tree. It includes a clip of Don Currey discussing the cutting of Prometheus and information from the person who claims to have found an even older specimen.

The curse of the bristlecones implies those who touch/cut the trees will have brief lives. Edmund Shulman who cored Methuselah in the 1950s died at 49, while a 32-year-old Forest Service employ who helped carry a slab of Prometheus off the mountain suffered a heart attack on the way down and died. Currey, who one would assume would be the most cursed, died at 70, diminishing the likelihood of a curse in my mind. A highly recommended 2020 New Yorker article by Alex Ross, “The Past and Future of the Earth’s Oldest Trees,” discusses the curse, dendrochronology, the controversy over the bristlecone’s possible submission to climate change, and other aspects of this species.

bristlecone against the sky — Colorado Bristlecone pine hiding amongst the spruces.

To find C170 Pinus aristata in City Park, go to the intersection of Mulberry Street and Sheldon Drive. On the northeast corner is a small grove of trees including some spruce and deciduous trees. The shortest of the conifers should be the Colorado Bristlecone pine. Last I looked, I did not see its tag. This tree was planted in 1978 when it had a diameter of eight inches.

*The Tree Book:Superior Selections for Landscapes, Streetscapes, and Gardens (Dirr, Michael and Warren, Keith, 2019)

**Flora of Colorado (Ackerfield, Jennifer, 2015)

Native Oaks of Colorado–the Ubiquitous and Dichotomous Gambel’s Oak

Quercus gambelii is a tree native to the Southwest, including Colorado.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA — Gambel oak leaves

On the Fort Collins City Park Self-guided tree tour two oaks are listed as native to Colorado, the bur and the Gambel. Jennifer Ackerfield, Flora of Colorado, 2015, lists the Gambel oak as well as two shrubby oaks with which it hybridizes as native to this state. The USDA map shows the Gambel oak being native to states of the west and southwest, including Colorado, Wyoming and South Dakota. The USDA map shows the Bur oak as native to most of the Canadian provinces and the eastern United States as well as states north, south, and east of Colorado, but not Colorado itself.

According to the passage in Western Explorers and other sources, Gambel oak may also be called scrub oak. Ackerman agrees Quercus gambelli Nutt. can be either shrubby or a small tree*, but other authors call different species of Quercus scrub oak. Some of these also may be native to the region, and all of them do appear to be mostly shrubs. To add to the confusion, other plant databases also call Gambel Oak Rocky Mountain White Oak or Utah White Oak. This short article says Gambel oaks are well-suited to Colorado by their smaller form as they require less water than many of their relatives. The smaller size also helps them withstand wind and snow. This species is common in Grand Canyon National Park.**

Nearly all sources agree the wood from Gambel oak is mostly only good for fuel, although it might also have been used for equipment handles and furniture such as cradle.

Many concoctions of oaks in general (Medicinal Plants of the Mountain West, Michael Moore, 2003) and Gambel Oak in particular, have been used for gum inflammation, diarrhea and other intestinal conditions. Another use mentioned in the book is a chewed bolus of the leaves applied to insect bites. Other uses include as an analgesic for postpartum pain. Acorns have been eaten to increase sexual potency.

The acorns of this oak have very short or nearly nonexistent stems. The hairy cap covers less than half of the actual nut.*** Properly prepared acorn meal can be added to breads or soups to increase protein content. Some use acorns as a coffee substitute that does not contain caffeine. You can make your own or even buy it!

Although the Gambel Oak provides food and cover for wildlife such as deer and squirrels, it is considered poisonous for many domestic species, such as cattle and sheep. Gambel oak holds a similar dichotomous place in fire management. Under moderate conditions it may act as a firebreak, but in severe conditions it can be explosive and deadly.

Thomas Nuttall, one of the most famous naturalist of his time, named this species after a young naturalist. William Gambel was only 15 when he began working under Nuttall. Soon he ventured out to the Southwest and discovered a new species of oak near Santa Fe. Also on his journeys he found numerous new bird species, some of which also bear his name. Gambel named one of these, a woodpecker, after Nuttall. Eventually he returned to Philadelphia where he earned his medical degree and married a childhood friend. Shortly after this, he packed his bags and headed back to California for the gold rush and to set up his medical practice. During his trip, he contacted typhoid and died at age twenty-six.

To find the Gambel Oak (Quercus gambelii) specimen in City Park look for E59 on the map.

This tree is near the intersection of City Park and Bryan Avenue’s NW corner in a small cluster of trees. You can locate this cluster with the Gambel in the middle on the west side of the stone wall located between the derelict miniature train station and the road.

*Ackerfield, Jennifer, Flora of Colorado, 2015 p. 486

**Little, Elbert National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees, Western Region, 1994 p.398

***Preston and Braham, North American Trees, 5th edition, 2002 p. 303

Hawthorn Trees: Supernatural Powers and an Unassuming Champion.

Draco Malfoy’s wand was made of hawthorn

On September 4, 2018, one of the trees in Fort Collin’s City Park was named a NATIONAL champion, the 9th such title Colorado can claim. Okay, okay, don’t get too excited. Yes, it is nice to have a national champion, but when you find this specimen, you might be a tad disappointed as it is far from gigantic. In fact, before I knew it was a national champion, I kind of laughed at it. Its fruit is minuscule. The leaves late in the summer looked ravished, and overall, it wasn’t impressive, although it was larger and bushier than one of the other hawthorns in the park.

Crataegus erythopoda, or the Cerro hawthorn, is native to the Rocky Mountain states along with other trees and shrubs in this genus. Crataegus is a member of the rose family. According to Sibley in The Sibley Guide to Trees, in the early 1900s botanists had named over a thousand different species of hawthorns. This number is now closer to a more manageable one hundred. Apparently types of hawthorn grow throughout North America. Like so many other trees, they are known by many names including thornapple, may-tree in Europe, white thorn, mayflower and maybush.

The trees of this genus have thorns, flowers in the spring, and pomes resembling crabapples in the fall. In the UK the fruit are called haws. These berry-like fruits vary in size and color for

each of the many species in this genus. Various species of hawthorn are ubiquitous throughout North America.

Another hawthorn native to most of North America, including Colorado, is the Fleshy hawthorn (Crataegus succulenta.) Although the general consensus seems to be

the fruit of the hawthorn is not delectable, at least one website says the haws of this species are sweet, juicy, and good for making jellies. It also mentions the fruit is slightly larger than that of other species, and these characteristics might be where it gets its Latin name. Eat the Weeds indicates that hawthorn seeds inside the pomes are poisonous and should not be eaten. At the same time, the website includes recipes for

Schnapps, jellies, including one of Euell Gibbons recipes, and hawthorn catsup. If you happen to own a prolific tree, you do have to be careful of the thorns if picking the haws!

According to Medicinal Plants of the Mountain West (Michael Moore, 2003) the hawthorn has been used as a heart tonic. Other authors say it has been used for cardiovascular health for over 500 years. Another source goes so far as to say the hawthorn provides “the world’s best heart tonic,” mentions studies conducted in Europe and references both articles and books. The flowers, which are bitter, the fruit, and the leaves all may be used, although the berries may begin to ferment after frost. As is the case with most herbal medications, this one comes with warnings of potential side effects.

Hawthorn trees have played a part in mythology, and are often considered unlucky. Draco Malfoy’s wand is made of hawthorn wood in the Harry Potter series. Up until the 19th century, the tree was considered to have supernatural powers. A particular tree in England, the Glastonbury Holy Thorn Tree has links to the beginning of Christianity and actually bloomed twice a year, including near the winter solstice. This most famous of hawthorn trees was vandalized in 2010, but in 2011 there was a report that it may be “back from the dead.”

Hawthorn trees easily and freely hybridize, which might be why the number of separate species varies. The other three identified hawthorns in City Park appear to be variant trees. The Lavelle hawthorn (Crataegus X Lavallei) E65 is a relatively spineless variety with small green fruits into the fall.

A thorn on the “spineless” Lavelle Hawthorn

The fruit of the Lavelle hawthorn

This tree is located near the shed in the center of the current miniature train tracks at the corner of City Park and Bryan Drive.

C169, the Snowbird Hawthorn (Crataegus x mordenensis SnowBird) is located near the corner of Mulberry and Sheldon Drive, along Mulberry Street. This particular tree had very few haws. Thorns protrude from the small branches.

Thorn on a new branchlet of the Snowbird hawthorn

Leaves and a few small haws of the Snowbird hawthorn

Snowbird hawthorn

The last of the tagged hawthorns is near the Snowbird, about a third of the way between Mulberry and City Park along Sheldon Drive. C174 is the Winter King Hawthorn (Crataegus viridis Winter King.)

The larger haws of the Winter King

Leaves and branchlets of the Winter King Hawthorn with few thorns visible.

Winter King Hawthorn trunk

Both the fleshy hawthorn (Crataegus succulenta) E40 and E36 Cerros hawthorn are on the west end of the ballfields. You can find the ballfields by walking or driving to the very end of Oak Street. E36 is near the NW tip of the south ball field while E40 is near the NW tip of the north field.

E36 is mis-identified on at least some copies of the tree guide as a Black Hawthorn, but its tag clearly says Crataegus erythopoda or the Cerro hawthorn.

The Soapberry Tree

I took my dog out in search of the first tree that caught my eye, the Soapberry. Even though I’ve used soap nuts for laundry, I’d never heard of this tree or at least I never thought one would grow in our climate. Apparently the Sapindus Mukorossi is the variety used to grow the commercial nuts. These trees grow in India, Pakistan, and Indonesia.

According to the USDA the variety found in City Park, Sapindus drummondii, is native to a number of states including Colorado. The tree produces green berries which grow in a straight line, turn bright red, and then a wrinkly reddish brown.

P9240032-2 — Berries on the Soapberry Tree

Information on uses for the seeds is scarce and conflicting as the European charity Plants for a Future says the seeds and fruit are poisonous while other sites list some medicinal uses. Trade Winds Fruit suggests you can use the fruit and seed together to produce a soap substitute. One blog included a recipe for making a cleaning solution, although the berries used may have come from a different tree in the Sapindaceae family. The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center calls Sapindus drummondii Western Soapberry as well as other names such as chinaberry. I collected a small number of these seeds and when they are dried, I will attempt to make a soap and report back on how it turned out.

While Charles Kane’s Herbal Medicine of the American Southwest and some Native American websites discuss the medicinal uses of the tree, it should be noted that the berries contain saponins and these are generally listed as a toxin. Many of the plants included in Poisonous and Psychoactive Plants by Jim Meuninck include saponins as part of their chemical makeup. Michael Moore’s Medicinal Plants of the Mountain West does not list any uses for the Soapberry tree. For these reasons, it would be prudent to stick to making liquid soap or jewelry from the berries!

LOCATION. The specimen in City Park is near the Eastern edge of the ballpark parking lot, on the south side of the entrance. To find it, drive west on Oak Street. At the intersection of Bryan and Oak, keep going west across the stone bridge and the tree as on the South side of the small peninsula of grass. It is E51 on the map and listing in the City Park Arboretum list.