Editing Pinyon pine (section)

{{Short description|Group of conifers}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| name              = Pinyon pines
| image             = Single-leaf pinyon 2.jpg
| image_caption     = Single-leaf pinyon (''Pinus monophylla'' subsp. ''monophylla'')
| display_parents   = 2
| taxon             = Pinus subsect. Cembroides
| authority         = [[Engelm.]]<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gernandt |first1=D. S. |last2=López |first2=G. G. |last3=García |first3=S. O. |last4=Liston |first4=A. |year=2005 |title= Phylogeny and classification of ''Pinus'' |journal=Taxon |volume=54 |issue= 1 |page=42<!-- where authority is given --> |doi= 10.2307/25065300 |jstor = 25065300|url=https://rc.upr.edu.cu/jspui/handle/DICT/2586 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision       = See text.
}}

The '''pinyon''' or '''piñon''' [[pine]] group grows in southwestern North America, especially in [[New Mexico]], Colorado, Arizona, and Utah, with the single-leaf pinyon pine just reaching into southern Idaho. The trees yield edible [[Pine nut|nuts]], which are a staple food of [[Indigenous people of the Americas|Native Americans]], and widely eaten as a [[snack]] and as an ingredient in [[New Mexican cuisine]]. The name comes from the Spanish ''pino piñonero'', a name used for both the American varieties and the [[stone pine]] common in Spain, which also produces edible nuts typical of [[Mediterranean cuisine]]. Harvesting techniques of the prehistoric American Indians are still used today to collect the pinyon seeds for personal use or for commercialization. The pinyon nut or seed is high in fats and calories. In the western United States, pinyon pines are often found in [[Pinyon–juniper woodland|pinyon–juniper woodlands]].

Pinyon wood, especially when burned, has a distinctive fragrance, making it a common wood to burn in [[chimenea]]s.<ref>{{cite web |title=Chiminea Woods: Pinon, Apple, and Hickory—Oh My! |url=http://www.chimineacompany.com/blogs/the-chiminea-blog/9973921-chiminea-woods-pinon-apple-and-hickory-oh-my |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140224040959/http://www.chimineacompany.com/blogs/the-chiminea-blog/9973921-chiminea-woods-pinon-apple-and-hickory-oh-my|archive-date=2014-02-24 }}</ref> Pinyon pine trees are also known to influence the soil in which they grow by increasing concentrations of both macronutrients and micronutrients.<ref name=Barth>{{cite journal |last=Barth |first=R.C. |title=Influence of Pinyon Pine Trees on Soil Chemical and Physical Properties|journal=Soil Science Society of America Journal |date=January 1980 |volume=44 |issue=1 |pages=112–114 |url=https://www.soils.org/publications/sssaj/pdfs/44/1/SS0440010112 |access-date=6 August 2012|doi=10.2136/sssaj1980.03615995004400010023x|bibcode=1980SSASJ..44..112B |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Some of the species are known to hybridize, the most notable ones being ''P. quadrifolia'' with ''P. monophylla'', and ''P. edulis'' with ''P. monophylla''.

The two-needle piñon (''Pinus edulis'') is the official [[List of New Mexico state symbols#Flora|state tree]] of [[New Mexico]].