Pinus (Sturtevant, 1919)

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Sturtevant, Notes on edible plants, 1919 Pinus (Sturtevant, 1919)

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Pinus cembra Linn.

Coniferae. RUSSIAN CEDAR, SWISS STONE PINE.

Southern Europe and northern Asia. According to Gmelin, the seeds form about the sole winter food of the peasantry in Siberia. Nuttall says an oil is extracted from them.

Pinus cembroides Zucc.

Western United States. The seeds are as large as large peas, says Newberry, the flavor agreeable, and the Indians eat them whenever they can be obtained. The edible nuts are collected, says Parry, by the Indians along the Mexican boundary, and Torrey says, when fresh or slightly roasted, they are very palatable.

Pinus contorta Dougl.

Western United States. In times of scarcity, says R. Brown, the Indians will eat the liber. Along both sides of the trail in the passes of the Galton and Rocky Mountains, many of the young trees of this species are stripped of their bark for a foot or so above the ground to a height of six or seven feet. The Indians of Alaska, says Dall, in the spring are in the habit of stripping off the outer bark and scraping the newly formed cambium from the trunk, and this is eaten fresh or dried. When fresh it is not unpleasant but as the season advances it tastes strongly of turpentine.

Pinus coulteri D. Don.

California. The seeds, says Nuttall, are of the size of an almond and are edible.

Pinus edulis Engelm.

NUT PINE. PINON PINE.

Southwestern United States. The nut is sweet and edible, about the size of a hazelnut. It is used as an article of trade by the New Mexicans of the upper Rio Grande, with those below and about El Paso. The fruit has a slightly terebinthine taste but the New Mexicans are very fond of it.

Pinus excelsa Wall.

BHOTAN PINE.

Himalayan mountains. The tree is called cheel. In Kamaon, a kind of manna, which is eaten, is collected from this tree in a dry winter.

Pinus flexilis James.

Western United States. The large seeds are used as food by the Indians.

Pinus gerardiana Wall.

NEPAL NUT PINE.

Himalayas. The cones are plucked before they open and are heated to make the scales expand and to get the seeds out. Large quantities of the seeds are stored for winter use, and they form a staple food of the inhabitants of Kunawar. They are eaten ground and mixed with flour. It is a common saying in Kunawar, says Brandis, "one tree a man's life in winter." They are oily, with a slight but not unpleasant turpentiny flavor and are called neozar.

Pinus koraiensis Sieb. & Zucc.

KOREAN PINE.

Korea, Kamchatka, China and Japan.

The tree produces edible nuts.

Pinus lambertiana Dougl.

GIANT PINE. SUGAR PINE.

Northwest coast of America. The resin which exudes from partially burned trees for the most part loses its terebinthine taste and smell and acquires a sweetness nearly equal to that of sugar and is sometimes used for sweetening food. It has, however, decided cathartic properties and is oftener used by the frontiersmen as a medicine than a condiment. The seeds have a sweet and pleasant-tasting kernel and are eaten roasted or pounded into coarse cakes by the Indians.

Pinus longifolia Roxb.

EMODI PINE.

Himalaya Mountains. The seeds, says Brandis, are eaten in India and are of some importance as food in times of scarcity.

Pinus monophylla Torr. & Frem.

NUT PINE. STONE PINE.

Western North America. The seeds are of an almond-like flavor and are consumed in quantity by the natives.

Pinus parryana Engelm.

California. The seeds are eaten by the Indians.

Pinus pinea Linn.

STONE PINE.

Southern Europe and the Levant. This pine is said by Grigor to be cultivated for its fruit about Naples. It was known to the ancients, and with the Greeks was a tree sacred to Neptune. The seeds are commonly called pignons by the French and pinocchi by the Italians. They are eaten as dessert, made into sweetmeats or used in puddings and cakes. They are very commonly used in Aleppo and in Turkey.

Pinus sabiniana Dougl.

DIGGER PINE.

California. This is one of the nut pines of California and furnishes a most important food to the Indians, says Brewer. The seeds are as large as large beans, are very palatable, having, however, a slightly terebinthine taste. Thousands of beings, red-skinned but human, look to this pine tree for their winter store of food.

Pinus sylvestris Linn.

SCOTCH PINE.

Northern Europe and Asia. In Norway, the inner bark furnishes a barkbread. In Sweden, in times of scarcity, much bark is collected from the forests for food, being kiln-dried, ground into flour, mixed with a small portion of oatmeal and made into thin cakes. The inner part of the bark, says Morlot, properly prepared, furnishes when boiled a very edible broth; the Laplanders are quite fond of it. When they prepare a meal of it, they bark the tree all around up to a certain height. The tree then dies and thus the routes of migration in Lapland are marked by a track of dead pines which is continually widening.

Pinus torreyana Parry.

California. This pine bears large and edible seeds.