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.
Apache plume (Fallugia paradoxa) is very common around out little homestead. There are thickets of it all along the banks of the Ol’ Guajolote....
Petey describes a stretch of road and beautiful plant found along the way.
I always want to add an extra T when I write Yucca baccata, but no, two Cs and one T is correct. The specific...