Pinus quadrifolia - Parry Pinyon Pine

Description

A smaller pine usually less than 16 meters. Needle bundles are mostly in 4's. The needles are pale blue-green on the back, the inner surface has definite white stomate rows. The trunk is reddish brown when mature. The tree is often pyramidal when young but old trees can often develop into a wonderful twisted and gnarled shape. The seeds are large, edible and were an important food for Indians, as well as for birds and small mammals. Native to the Western edge of the Colorado Desert of S. CA, southward to Baja, California.