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Names: Pinyon, Piñon Gaelic Names: None Uses: Edible, Other Description and Climate: The Piñon Tuatha prefers open sunny areas and are often found with the Juniper Tuatha.

Pinyon seeds or nuts, are delicious. They are one of the best tasting wild seeds you will find, with a bumper crop about every 3 to 6 years. The Pinyon can reach up to 400 years in age. The Pinyon has a symbiotic relationship with the Pinyon Jay. The Pinyon Jay collects Pinyon nuts and buries them for the winter, with any nuts not recovered growing into new trees.

The Pinyon cones are usually empty of seeds by the time they ripen, so you must be quick! You can store them for later use inside of the unripe cones for later use. When you are ready to harvest the nuts, roast them on a very low temperature in the oven to open the cones. The nuts are important to many forest animals and birds so I will usually only harvest the middle third of the tree. Pinyon nuts are rich in calories and contain all 9 essential amino acids.

The sap will often coagulate, and harden on the trunk. I have heard that the sap can be chewed like gum, "if you can get past the first unpleasant crunchy 60 seconds while the sap polymerizes."