The botanical name of our 3 needle per fascicle (bundle) Chihuahuan pine is Pinus leiophylla var. chihuahuana. Further south into Mexico where the 5 needle version occurs it becomes Pinus leiophylla var. leiophylla. Some botanists, by the way, list the variety as a subspecies. Well, either way it’s really a neat native pine here in the borderlands.
The photos are mine and taken in the Chiricahua Mountains where we were wandering around looking for a Christmas tree. Below is a photo of large sprout coming off a pine trunk. It was an area that burned during the 2011 Horseshoe Two Fire and some of the surviving fire damaged trees put out large crown-like sprouts. That’s fascinating and unusual for a pine species. And now you know.
Petey sure likes Wright’s bee brush. Let’s listen.
This was a fun episode to write…well, maybe fun isn’t the right word, but it was great to get excited about hedgehog cactus again....
I’m telling you, late summer and fall are great times to get out into the hills, especially if you want to find interesting plants....