Editing Pinus edulis (section)

==Distribution and habitat==
The range in the U.S. is in [[Colorado]], southern [[Wyoming]], eastern and central [[Utah]], northern [[Arizona]], [[New Mexico]], western [[Oklahoma]], southeastern California, and the [[Guadalupe Mountains National Park|Guadalupe Mountains]] in far western [[Texas]], as well as northern Mexico.<ref name="Moore2008">{{cite book |author1=Moore, Gerry |author2=Kershner, Bruce |author3=Craig Tufts |author4=Daniel Mathews |author5=Gil Nelson |author5-link=Gil Nelson |author6=Spellenberg, Richard |author7=Thieret, John W. |author8=Terry Purinton |author9=Block, Andrew |title=National Wildlife Federation Field Guide to Trees of North America |publisher=Sterling |location=New York |year=2008 |page=92 |isbn=978-1-4027-3875-3}}</ref> It occurs at moderate elevations of {{convert|1600|-|2400|m|abbr=on}}, rarely as low as {{convert|1400|m|ft|abbr=on}} and as high as {{convert|3000|m|ft|abbr=on}}. It is widespread and often abundant in this region, forming extensive open woodlands, usually mixed with [[juniper]]s in the [[pinyon-juniper woodland]] [[plant community]]. The Colorado pinyon (piñon) grows as the dominant species on 4.8 million acres ({{convert|19,000|km2|sqmi|abbr=on|disp=or}}) in Colorado, making up 22% of the state's forests. The Colorado pinyon has cultural meaning to agriculture, as strong piñon wood "plow heads" were used to break soil for crop planting at the state's earliest known agricultural settlements.

There is one known example of a Colorado pinyon growing amongst Engelmann spruce (''[[Picea engelmannii]]'') and limber pine (''[[Pinus flexilis]]'') at nearly {{convert|3170|m|abbr=on}} on [[Kendrick Peak]] in the Kaibab National Forest of northern Arizona.