Pinus cembroides subsp. lagunae

(Robert-Passini) Bailey 1983

Common names

Laguna piñon (Perry 1991).

Taxonomic notes

Syn: Pinus cembroides var. lagunae Robert-Passini 1981; P. lagunae (R-P.) Passini 1987 (Farjon and Styles 1997).

Description

Range

Mexico: Baja California Sur: Sierra de la Laguna, at 1200-2000 m (Perry 1991).

Big tree

Oldest

Dendrochronology

An exploratory study by Biondi and Fessenden (1999) found that the trees could not be crossdated due to high incidences of missing and "false" rings in a geographically tight collection of dominant trees. They conclude that this result may reflect low seasonality. I suspect that given its narrow range, further work with this species would be unproductive if it relied only on traditional optical methods to crossdate samples. See also Díaz et al. (1994).

Ethnobotany

Observations

Seen in spring 1994 in the Sierra de la Laguna. Collected cones & needles. Detailed instructions on how to reach its home range, La Laguna, are presented in Chap. 15 of the Baja Adventure Book (Peterson 1992). It can also be seen from the so-called Naranjas Road in Southern Baja, south of the range shown here (I have to run down information on this occurrence). Drive to the summit, look north with binoculars, and hike to the trees. It is a difficult hike (there is no trail), but it can be completed in less than 3 hours (V. Dinets, e-mail 2003.10.18).

Remarks

Citations

Bailey, D. K. 1983. A new allopatric segregate from and a new combination in Pinus cembroides Zucc. at its southern limits. Phytologia 54(2):89-99. Available www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/46790, accessed 2011.05.20.

Biondi, F. and J.E. Fessenden. 1999. Radiocarbon analysis of Pinus lagunae tree rings: implications for tropical dendrochronology. Radiocarbon 41:241-249. Available online at equinox.unr.edu/homepage/fbiondi/pubs.html.

Díaz, S.C., C.A. Salinas-Zavala, and L. Arriaga. 1994. An interannual climatological aridity series for the Sierra de la Laguna, B.C.S. Mexico. Mountain Research and Development 14:137-146.

Peterson, Walt. 1992. The Baja Adventure Book, 2nd ed. Berkeley, CA: Wilderness Press.

See also

Díaz, S.C. 1995. Dinámica poblacional y análisis dendrocronológico de una especie de conífera endémica, Pinus lagunae M.-F. Passini de Baja California Sur [masters thesis]. México, DF: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.

Farjon et al. (1997).

Passini, M.-F. 1987. The endemic pinyon of Lower California: Pinus lagunae M.-E Passini. Phytologia 63(5):337-338. Available www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/48962, accessed 2011.05.20.

Passini, M.-F., and N. Pinel. 1987. Morphology and phenology of Pinus lagunae. Phytologia 63(5):331-336. Available www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/48962, accessed 2011.05.20.

Robert-Passini, M.-F. 1981. Deux nouveaux pins pignons du Mexicque. Bull. Mus. Hist. Natn. Paris, 4, 3, sect. B, Adansonia 1:61-73. Available www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/90529, accessed 2011.05.20.