Pinus leiophylla

Pinus leiophylla, the Chihuahua pine or smooth-leaved pine, is a hard pine of the Mexican highlands, found from Oaxaca north along the Sierra Madre to Arizona and New Mexico at 1,500 to 3,300 m. It makes a tree of 15 to 35 m with a single straight trunk, often clear of branches for more than half its height, an open, rounded crown and very thick, dark grey-brown bark broken into long scaly plates.

Botanically it is one of the most singular Mexican pines. The slender, light green needles, 6 to 15 cm long and borne in bundles of three to five, lose their basal sheath early, a character found in no other Mexican hard pine. The ovoid cones, 5 to 7 cm long, take three seasons to ripen instead of the usual two. And unlike most pines, Pinus leiophylla can resprout from a cut stump and readily produces new shoots from the trunk after fire.

• Slender, light green needles in bundles of three to five
• Needle sheaths shed early, unique among Mexican hard pines
• Cones that take three years to mature
• Able to resprout from the stump and from the trunk after fire
• Fast-growing, with thick, deeply fissured bark

Grow the Chihuahua pine in an open, sunny position in deep, well-drained soil. The typical form is suited to mild-winter climates (USDA zone 9); protect young plants from hard frost.

IMPORTANT: The pictures show the mother plant, which is not for sale. The offer includes a plant with the dimensions stated in the description.