THE ACORN AS HUMAN FOOD 



These are associated with another sort of nut^ har- 

 vest, that of the Pinon or Pine-nut, the plump, oily 

 seed of certain species of the Far "Western pines. 

 The most esteemed nut-pines are the Two-leaved 

 Pine {Pmus edulis, Engelm.), a low, round-topped 

 tree, generally known by its Spanish name pinon and 

 common from Southern Colorado to Texas and west- 

 ward to Arizona and Utah ; the closely related One- 

 leaved Pine (P. monophylla, Torr.), the pinon of the 

 Great Basin region and desert slopes of th6 Cali- 

 fornia Sierras; the Digger Pine (P. Sahiniana, 

 Dough), a widely distributed species of the Cali- 

 fornia foothills and lower mountain slopes; and 

 the stately Sugar Pine (P. Lambertiana, Dough), 

 whose huge 6ones are frequently a foot and a 

 half long or more. The "nuts" of these species 

 vary from one-half to three-quarters of an inch in 

 length, with thin shells easy but rather tedious to 

 crack. The meat is delicious in flavor even to white 

 people, tender, sweet, and highly nutritious. They 

 are, moreover, of easiest digestibility, so that even 

 delicate stomachs are undisturbed by them. Under 

 the name of pinons they are sold in towns through- 

 out the Southwest as well as Mexico, where another 

 J 



1 The word "nut" is used in this chapter in its popular sens^ 

 ratb?r than with Ijotanicfil accuracy. 



75 



