Pinus monophylla

Singleleaf pinyon pine, Singleleaf Pinyon Pine

Family: Pinaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Singleleaf pinyon pine is a California native shrub found in central Sierra Nevada Mountains, Tehachapi, southeastern South Coast Ranges, Transverse Ranges, Peninsular Ranges, southeastern Sierra Nevada, and desert mountains in pinyon/juniper woodland at elevations below 2,800 meters. Its distinctive feature is having just a single needle per bundle, with needles 2 to 7 centimeters long, often curved and colored gray or blue-green. Growing as a compact tree with a trunk less than 15 meters tall and less than 40 centimeters wide, it develops a mature crown that is much-branched and rounded. The needles emerge with a deciduous sheath and have a distinctive curved appearance that helps distinguish this pine from other species. Its seed cones are spreading, spheric-ovoid, 3 to 12 centimeters long, typically light or red-brown with scale tips featuring angled, truncate knobs less than 1 centimeter wide.

Habitat: Pinyon/juniper woodland

Elevation: < 2800 m

Bioregions: c&amps SNH, Teh, se SCoRI, TR, PR, SNE, DMtns

California counties: San Bernardino, Inyo, Kern, Fresno, Los Angeles, Mono, Alpine, Riverside, Imperial, Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Diego, Tulare, San Luis Obispo, Amador, Sierra, Tuolumne, Alameda

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.