Pinaceae

Pine Family

Fir Trees

FAMILY: Pine family (Pinaceae) – Abies genus.

SPECIES: #1 white, silver, balsam, or Rocky Mountain fir (Abies concolor (Gord. & Glend.) Lindl. ex Hildebr.). #2 western or subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa (Hook.) Nutt.).

TO UTILIZE AS FOOD: The inner bark, resinous sap, winter buds, young shoots, and young leaves of all fir trees can be utilized as food. In addition, the young cones and seeds of subalpine fir (and presumably white fir) can be eaten. The inner bark generally ranks as the most valuable part, especially since it’s available year-round. Other parts taste unappealing. Both species listed above are essentially the same in regard to edibility. Fir trees are susceptible to pests and diseases. Signs of infestation include tiny boring holes, hollow bark chambers, dying branches, and discoloration.

Inner bark: After peeling off the outer bark, strips of the inner bark (also called cambium, phloem, or xylem) can be eaten fresh or ground into flour. Outer bark is inedible and should never be included in the flour. Since the inner bark is reasonably chewable in its natural state, grinding is an optional process. Sun-dried shreds can be eaten as snacks, somewhat like “stale potato chips with a sawdust flavor.” Comparisons to spaghetti may be a little optimistic, but the flavor is mild and the texture is soft (for an evergreen). Fir bark is more of an appetizer than a main course. Processing it into flour is relatively easy, but this flour is high in fiber and difficult to digest. It’s best when combined with more wholesome flours made from seeds or roots. Fir inner bark is among the few wild foods available year-round and should not be forgotten when other wild foods become scarce in the winter season.

Sap: Fir trees produce somewhat edible sap (also called pitch, balsam, or oleoresin) with a flavor that’s seldom described as appealing. Due to its extremely strong flavor, it was more often used as medicine than food. Fresh sap is extremely sticky and highly aromatic. Upon exposure to air, it turns from a thick liquid to a dry solid. Once in solid form, it becomes a convenient source of concentrated food containing a wealth of nourishment. This age-old wild food can be found covering damaged bark, branch tips, winter buds, and cones of any age. Dry sap can be collected anytime, but it’s safer and more nutritious when it first appears on the various parts. Fir trees, especially younger ones, usually have distinctive blisters appearing as raised bumps on the trunks. Fresh sap can be collected by puncturing these blisters with a knife, rock, or stick. As fir trees age, outer bark thickens and obscures these blisters. As medicine, fir sap was a common ingredient in cough syrups. It was also valued for healing wounds, applied externally as bandages, and added to cosmetics. Soaps, perfumes, and deodorants are important for masking the human scent when hunting. Evergreen sap is a remarkable adhesive and waterproofing agent. It was commonly used for mending broken pottery, fastening arrowheads to shafts, waterproofing baskets, and sealing canoes.

Leaves: Fir leaves (needles) are barely edible due to an overpowering acrid flavor, but they are suitable for making tea. As long as the brew isn’t too strong, the tea is pleasant and healthful. Fir leaf tea has a strong evergreen characteristic combined with a hint of lemon peel and some mysterious vegetable that time has forgotten. The combination is refreshing and seems to bring one back to a more distant age. Essential oils within the sap impart the complex flavor. Fir leaves are too acrid for consumption, fresh or cooked. Depending upon the influence of elevation, they’re available from late spring through early summer. They grow at the tips of branches and have a light-green color that sharply contrasts the darker shades of older growth. As the growing season progresses, leaves become more uniform in color and less appealing in flavor. Younger leaves are softer, moister, less fibrous, and better tasting than older leaves. Only young leaves are recommended for tea. As medicine, fir leaf tea will clear the lungs of congestion.

Shoots: Young fir shoots emerge from the winter buds in spring. Interior portions are soft, green, fleshy, and resinous. Exterior portions are tough, scaly, and bran-like. Fir shoots are barely edible due to acrid resins, and cooking offers no solution. Small amounts of fir shoots can serve as a peculiar addition to whole grain entrées, but larger quantities are terribly unpalatable.

Cones: Fir trees produce seed cones and pollen cones. Both types are terrible wild foods at any stage of development. Even after cooking they taste unappealing. Instead of flowers, fir trees and other members of the pine family have more primitive reproductive structures called sporangia. These structures are borne in the cones and rely on wind to perpetuate the species. Fir pollen cones can presumably be eaten like those of pine trees, but references to verify this presumption are lacking. Fir seed cones, at least those of subalpine fir (A. lasiocarpa), are edible anytime before they become woody. Pollen cones are easier to utilize as food than seed cones. Thousands of pollen cones may occur on a single tree and they tend to occur in clusters that are easy to reach. Fresh pollen cones taste bitter, resinous, and unappealing, yet definitely better than other parts of fir trees. The flavor is tolerable, but not very vegetable-like. The texture is dry, chewable, and bran-like. Older pollen cones become dry, crumbly, and unsuitable to use as food. Only healthy cones should be gathered. Withered cones should be avoided. Seed cones can also be utilized as food when they’re young and healthy. Young seed cones are soft, green, and loaded with sap supplying nutrients to the developing seeds. The texture is sticky, chewable, and vegetable-like. Centers of the young seed cones make poor vegetables. Coring the centers is easy until they become woody. Seed cones are generally located on the upper branches, and climbing the trees to reach the cones is not worth the effort.

Seeds: Attempting to utilize fir seeds as food is basically an exercise in futility. If collecting the delicate cones positioned high out of reach isn’t difficult enough, then isolating the tiny seeds should be equally enjoyable. Fir seeds are nut-like and contained within delicate, papery, winged structures. Multiple layers of papery material overlap the seed area. Pulling this material off the seeds is like pulling tissue paper off tape. It’s sticky, flaky, and naturally saturated in flammable resins. Winnowing is utterly ineffective and burning is unwise. This material wants to burn. One match creates a nice fireball along with charred remains of little fir seeds. Other than a few layers of papery coverings, fir seeds are unprotected. Attempting to rub the seeds free of the wings only creates broken wings stuck to fragments of seeds. Eating the seeds at this point dispatches a rush of acrid flavor setting the throat on fire. The flavor is otherwise similar to pinyon pine nuts. Cooking has no effect upon the acrid intensity. For some reason, bugs don’t seem to mind the flavor. Finding holes bored through the seed lines adjacent to the cores is not uncommon. Fir cones mature from late summer to early autumn and break apart soon afterwards, leaving the cone axes to endure on the branches. As they break apart, individual parts (scales, bracts, seeds) fall to the ground on windy days. Collecting enough seeds to provide a meal off the ground is basically impossible, and climbing the trees to reach the seeds is no solution. The seeds are simply too small to be of value to humans, but they are valuable to squirrels and chipmunks. Hunting these small animals would be a more intelligent use of time. Fir seeds are essentially inedible raw or cooked, and not worth the trouble of acquiring.

NOTES: Acquiring the seed cones of fir trees for inclusion in this reference was not without complications. Climbing the first tree was easy enough, but once comfortably aloft in the evergreen canopy, the realization that yet another task was “easier said than done” struck without warning. Reaching the cones was the complication. Even though climbing the tree brought me closer to the cones, it wasn’t close enough. The cones were at the ends of branches that would surely break for any human careless enough to go that far “out on a limb!” It was also one of those moments that made me realize why our language has phrases like that, and what those phrases really mean. Without any way of bending the branches so that I could reach the cones, a new strategy was clearly necessary. From the security of the ground, none of this seemed like a problem, but the tree offered a new perspective on the situation. A short measure of rope would easily solve the problem, but the rope was in my backpack, which was on the ground. After descending to the ground, grabbing the rope, and climbing the tree again, I was able to secure a supply of fir cones. I climbed several trees to gather the cones at various stages of development, including fully mature cones bearing seeds. Very few ethnobotanical references indicate that Native Americans utilized the seeds of fir trees as food. It’s not often that a lack of information can be just as informative as a surplus of information. A lack of references to edibility usually means the part in question is inedible. In my estimation, fir seeds are simply too impractical and too distasteful to use as food, so they were seldom a part of the Native American diet.

IDENTIFICATION: The Abies genus is represented by approximately 14 species in the United States, of which only 2 are found in the Southwest, Great Basin, and southern Rocky Mountains. Fir trees are easy to recognize by observing the cones. Male pollen cones are small, delicate, and short-lived. Female seed cones point upward and break apart at maturity, leaving the cone axes to endure on the branches. Seed cones of other evergreens hang downward and drop as a whole unit. This fact alone is enough to distinguish firs from all other evergreens. Cones axes look like upward-pointing twigs and help identify firs in almost any season. Twigs are another feature setting firs apart from other evergreens. All evergreens shed leaves, but individual leaves live for several years so that the trees always look green. After a leaf is shed, a scar remains. Leaf scars of most evergreens are rough and bumpy. Those of firs are smooth and flush with the twigs. Fir trees have soft, flat, flexible, blunt, solitary leaves. In comparison, spruce trees have sharp, stiff, 4-sided leaves; pine trees have leaves arranged in bundles; and Douglas firs have distinctive cone bracts. Abies concolor and Abies lasiocarpa both have resinous buds, dusty leaves, fan-shaped cone scales, and seed cones that mature in one growing season. White lines on fir leaves are bands of stomata (tiny structures in plants for the purpose of breathing or “gas exchange”). Upper surfaces have 1 line, and lower surfaces have 2 lines.

Description of Rocky Mountain white fir (Abies concolor): FORM aromatic, evergreen tree about 30-60 meters tall; BARK whitish or brown; smooth or furrowed; often with resin blisters; TWIGS generally hairless; LEAVES simple; arranged spirally, often appearing 2-ranked, and generally not congested on the twigs; blades 3-6 cm long, flat, soft, and flexible; surfaces white-striped; leaf scars flush, so that bare twigs feel smooth; FLOWERS absent; represented by ovules and pollen sacs rather than pistils and stamens; ovulate inflorescences bearing 2 ovules on each scale; staminate inflorescences (pollen cones) bearing 2 pollen sacs on each scale; all scales arranged spirally; FRUITS cones turning from green to brown, often highlighted with yellow, orange, red, or purple; scales hairy; HABITAT found throughout the Rocky Mountains from 2,000 to 3,000 meters (about 6,000 to 9,500 feet) elevation, usually well below the timberline.

Description of subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa): FORM aromatic, evergreen tree about 5-30 meters tall, much shorter than other firs; BARK whitish-gray, generally not furrowed, and often with resin blisters; TWIGS generally hairy; LEAVES simple; arranged spirally and congested on the twigs; blades 1-3 cm long, flat, soft, and flexible; surfaces white-striped; leaf scars flush, so that bare twigs feel smooth; FLOWERS absent; represented by ovules and pollen sacs rather than pistils and stamens; ovulate inflorescences bearing 2 ovules on each scale; staminate inflorescences (pollen cones) bearing 2 pollen sacs on each scale; all scales arranged spirally; FRUITS cones purplish-black or reddish-brownish-black; scales densely hairy; HABITAT timberlines throughout the Rocky Mountains.

REFERENCES: Couplan (pp. 25-26) indicates that the inner bark, resinous sap, shoots, and young leaves of fir trees are edible. #1 Rocky Mountain white fir (Abies concolor): inner bark, resinous sap, shoots, and young leaves Couplan (pp. 25-26). #2 subalpine fir (Abies lasiocarpa): inner bark, resinous sap, shoots, and young leaves Couplan (pp. 25-26); cones and seeds Moerman (p. 31).

Spruce Trees

FAMILY: Pine family (Pinaceae) – Picea genus.

SPECIES: #1 Engelmann’s, silver, or mountain spruce (Picea engelmannii Parry ex Engelm.). #2 Colorado or blue spruce (Picea pungens Engelm.).

TO UTILIZE AS FOOD: The inner bark, resinous sap, shoots, young leaves, young cones, and seeds of species listed above can be utilized as food. Both species are essentially the same in terms of edibility. The following assessment is based on those species and isn’t meant to imply otherwise.

Spruce trees have fairly good tasting inner bark and sap (pitch). Other parts are essentially worthless as food. Fresh pieces of inner bark are moist, chewy, and reasonably mild flavored, at least when compared to those of other conifers. They eventually break apart without splintering into irritating fibers. Dried pieces of inner bark, also known as “spruce chips,” are firm, crunchy, and similar to stale corn chips. Of course, the lumber-like flavor is considerably different. Spruce chips are an interesting wild food. The chips are almost 100% fiber, so don’t eat too many! Marinating and seasoning the inner bark pieces prior to dehydration greatly improves the woody flavor. Spruce chips provide some calories and nutrients. However, they’re more of a supplement than a main course. Chips made from pines or firs taste inferior to spruce chips. The inner bark can be collected anytime throughout the year, but collecting it when the sap is flowing is recommended to maximize nutritional content. Pitch is a concentrated food, and spruces have the best-flavored pitch of all conifers. One of the first commercially produced chewing gums was called “State of Maine Pure Spruce Gum.” It was made by mixing spruce resins with beeswax and flavored with additional ingredients. Of course, the idea was nothing new. Native Americans have been chewing spruce gum for thousands of years before it was “discovered” once again. Medicinally, pitch clears the lungs of mucus, relieves the symptoms of colds, and accelerates the healing of minor wounds.

Spruce leaves (needles) can be steeped into a refreshing tea. The flavor soon becomes overwhelming if too many leaves are used, so finding the right balance between leaves and water is important. Spruce needles are stiff, sharp, terribly acrid, and unsuitable to use as vegetables. With great care, they can be chewed as a breath freshener, but they seem best as tea. Spruce tea has an invigorating spirit that lifts the consumer to the mountain heights.

Spruce “flowers” (sporangia) are not reported to be edible, but they were sampled for this reference. Male flowers (microsporangia) occur in delicate, cone-like structures (pollen cones) clustered at the branch tips. Female flowers (megasporangia) are usually produced out of reach on the upper branches and eventually develop into seeds within woody cones (seed cones). Pollen cones are generally more suitable for consumption because they have a softer texture and better flavor than seed cones. Pollen cones wither and disintegrate soon after maturing, so they need to be gathered at the right time. They generally look yellow and dusty at this “right time,” which ranges from late spring to early summer or occasionally later. Pollen contributes a pleasant aspect to the flavor. An acrid bite may be noticeable, but it’s relatively mild in spruce pollen cones. Spruce seed cones are more conspicuous than the pollen cones. The seed cones can be eaten anytime before they become woody. Young seed cones are typically some shade of dull green with highlights of red, purple, or other colors. The central axes of spruce seed cones, at least those of species mentioned above, are very small, so don’t expect much food value. Most of the volume consists of scales. After boiling, young seed cones are completely chewable, including the scales. The flavor is weakly “evergreen,” along with a character unique to spruces, plus bitter and foul accents. It’s not too horrible and not too acrid. Gathering spruce cones is a sticky job and climbing the trees for the cones isn’t really worth the effort.

Spruce seeds (nuts) can be utilized as food only with great difficulty. Obtaining the seeds is the hard part and may involve climbing the trees. Finding enough seeds on the ground to provide a meal is unlikely. Strong winds may knock down a few cones, but fallen cones won’t provide an adequate supply of seeds. Spruce cones can persist high on the trees for years. Seeds readily fall out of the cones at maturity and then disappear on the ground. Only cones from the current season are likely to furnish seeds. Spruce seeds are tiny, nut-like, and surrounded by thin shells that rest freely on wings. Shells and wings are not bonded together, thus making separation easy. Separating seeds from shells is more difficult, but not absolutely necessary because the delicately crunchy shells can simply be spit out after chewing the seeds. Tapping the cones with a stick releases hundreds of winged seeds falling as helicopters to the ground. Spruce seeds don’t have the burning intensity of fir seeds, yet the flavor is powerfully evergreen, as well as nutty and similar to pinyon pine nuts.

IDENTIFICATION: The Picea genus is represented by 8 species in the United States, of which only 2 occur in the Southwest, Great Basin, and Rocky Mountains. Spruces generally have sharp, stiff, 4-sided, dusty, bluish-green, needle-like leaves. They also have seed-bearing cones that hang downward and don’t break apart at maturity. The two southwestern species differ mainly by seed cone size and hair coverage on young twigs. These differences aren’t always well defined in the wild.

Description of Engelmann’s spruce (Picea engelmannii): FORM aromatic, evergreen tree about 20-40 meters tall; TWIGS hairy; LEAVES simple; solitary; arranged spirally; blades linear, 1-3 cm long, 4-angled, moderately stiff, bluish-green, and pointed; surfaces white-striped; leaf scars raised, so that the bare twigs feel bumpy; FLOWERS absent; represented by ovules and pollen sacs rather than pistils and stamens; ovulate inflorescences bearing 2 ovules on each scale; staminate inflorescences (pollen cones) yellow, delicate, and bearing 2 pollen sacs on each scale; both genders with scales arranged spirally; FRUITS cones dry, woody, about 3-7 cm long, pendulous, and not breaking apart at maturity; scales somewhat diamond-shaped and irregularly toothed at the tips; seeds winged; HABITAT higher mountains throughout the West, often forming nearly pure stands at 2,500 to 3,500 meters (about 8,000 to 11,500 feet) elevation, known as “the spruce belt.”

Description of blue spruce (Picea pungens): FORM aromatic, evergreen tree about 20-40 meters tall; TWIGS hairless; LEAVES simple; solitary; arranged spirally; blades linear, 1-3 cm long, 4-angled, stiff, bluish-green, and needle-like; surfaces white-striped; leaf scars raised, so that the bare twigs feel bumpy; FLOWERS absent; represented by ovules and pollen sacs rather than pistils and stamens; ovulate inflorescences bearing 2 ovules on each scale; staminate inflorescences (pollen cones) yellow, delicate, and bearing 2 pollen sacs on each scale; both genders with scales arranged spirally; FRUITS cones dry, woody, about 5-11 cm long, pendulous, and not breaking apart at maturity; scales somewhat diamond-shaped and irregularly toothed at the tips; seeds winged; HABITAT higher mountains throughout the West, often forming nearly pure stands at 2,500 to 3,500 meters (about 8,000 to 11,500 feet) elevation known as “the spruce belt.”

REFERENCES: #1 Engelmann’s spruce (Picea engelmannii): inner bark, resinous sap, shoots, and leaves Couplan (p. 28); cones and seeds Schofield (pp. 71-73). #2 blue spruce (Picea pungens): inner bark, resinous sap, shoots, and leaves Couplan (p. 28); cones and seeds Schofield (pp. 71-73).

Pine Trees

FAMILY: Pine family (Pinaceae) – Pinus genus.

SPECIES: All species of the Pinus genus are edible. #1 Mexico pinyon (Pinus cembroides Zucc.). #2 twoleaf pinyon (Pinus edulis Engelm.). #3 limber pine (Pinus flexilis E. James). #4 singleleaf pinyon (Pinus monophylla Torr. & Frém.). #5 western white pine (Pinus monticola Douglas ex D. Don). #6 ponderosa, blackjack, or bull pine (Pinus ponderosa Douglas ex P. Lawson & C. Lawson).

TO UTILIZE AS FOOD: The inner bark, resinous sap, shoots, pollen cones, pollen, young seed cones, and seeds of all pine trees are edible. Plus, the leaves can be steeped into tea. Some species are better than others.

Pine inner bark (cambium, phloem, xylem) is edible, but rather chewy. It’s more like gum than food, unless ground into flour. Chewing strips of fresh inner bark is like gnawing on soggy toothpicks. Complex sugars in the bark dissolve quickly, and the fibrous mass eventually breaks apart. The flavor is fair, not particularly good or bad. It has a slightly acrid aftertaste, but it’s definitely better than other parts, except for the seeds. Some species produce better-tasting inner bark than others. It all tastes like wood, but better species are free of bitter overtones. White pines seem to produce the best inner bark, and ponderosa pines produce the worst. Inner bark is available any time of the year. It should be remembered as a winter survival food.

Pine sap (pitch) is sticky, aromatic, and high in turpentine. Upon exposure to air, the turpentine evaporates and the sap turns from liquid to solid. Once in solid form, it becomes a concentrated food containing a wealth of nourishment. Dried sap is also called pitch. It accumulates on damaged areas much like blood clots to heal skin. Pitch should not be collected from holes bored by insects, because insects can carry diseases that enter pine trees through these holes. Pitch has been used as food for centuries, but it has a terribly strong flavor that few people would consider appealing. It was more often used as medicine than food.

Pine shoots (expanding terminal buds) are easy to obtain and available even when rainfall is inadequate. Protective scales cover the shoots. These scales should be removed, but they adhere to the shoots like confetti on glue. Underneath the scales are soft, moist, fleshy, sticky, edible, green interiors. Pine shoots generally taste unappealing due to acrid resins. Bitterness often accompanies the evergreen resins and string bean accents. Lemon-like accents may also be present. Flavor varies among species. Pinyon pine shoots seem to rank among the better. Roasting or boiling improves the flavor, but the improvement is minor. Roasting dries out the scales and turns the shoots into a sticky mess. The scales are merely annoying rather than harmful. Boiling softens the scales, but they remain bran-like and indigestible. The simmering aroma smells more like air freshener than food. Soaking the shoots in sugar water, followed by dehydrating, produces a confection suggesting “ginger candy,” except for the pine-like overtone. Pine shoots become available in spring. Avoid shoots appearing dry, withered, or silky. These are signs of pinetip moth activity.

Pine leaves (needles) are inedible, but they can be steeped into tea. Young needles make the best tea. Old needles produce a less flavorful tea. Avoid needles with colored bands or tiny lumps. The bands are a type of fungus, and the lumps are hard-shelled scale insects that live off the sap. Select pure green needles for tea, and never use brown or discolored needles. At the base of pine needles is a membranous sheath that’s not seen in other conifer trees. Pine needle tea has a flavor that matches its evergreen aroma. Finding the right balance between needles and water is important. A few needles go a long way.

Pine cones are one of two types: pollen cones or seed cones. Pollen cones (at least those sampled for this reference) are generally better suited to serve as food. They occur in small clusters that disintegrate soon after maturing and usually go unnoticed except during allergy season in late spring when they release clouds of pollen. Fresh pollen cones have a moist, delicate, grainy, bran-like texture and look like miniature ears of corn covered with yellow dust. Old pollen cones are dry, brown, crumbly, and unsuitable for consumption. Acrid resins that degrade the flavor of other parts are less prevalent in the pollen cones, and the pollen adds a pleasant quality to the flavor. Seed cones have much different characteristics than pollen cones. Seed cones are not delicate, and they eventually develop into the familiar woody structures littering the forest floor. Seed cones are edible anytime before they become woody. Young seed cones are soft, green, and reasonably tender. Center portions are relatively palatable, or at least not too horrible. The flavor is similar to green beans with a resinous pine-like overtone. Once the seed cones become woody, they’re worthless as food until the seeds mature.

Pine pollen is a nutritious and versatile wild food that can be used in the same way as flour. However, it can also trigger allergic reactions in susceptible individuals. Pine trees produce extraordinary amounts of pollen that can be gathered in late spring. Pollen is produced in structures called pollen sacs (microsporangia) in the pollen cones. These structures represent the “male flowers” of pine trees. Members of the pine family do not have flowers. Instead, they have more rudimentary structures that serve the same purpose—perpetuating the species. Soon after releasing the pollen, pollen cones break apart and fall to the ground. Gathering and processing pine pollen is reasonably easy, except on windy days. Pine trees are wind-pollinated. One gust of wind can instantly disperse the pollen, so gathering is best done when the wind is minimal. If that’s not an option, pollen trapped deep within the pollen sacs can be obtained by breaking apart the pollen cones. Pollen is produced over a period of several days, so waiting for the wind to subside is also an option. Since pine pollen is designed to fly, it obviously needs to be sifted rather than winnowed. All pine trees produce pollen. Pine pollen is sweet, yellow, moist, and highly perishable. It needs to be dried or consumed immediately. Otherwise, it becomes moldy. Pollen cones are the least resinous part of pine trees. They need to be free of resins in order to release the pollen. If they were resinous, pollen would stick to them rather than fly freely in the wind. The lack of resins on the pollen cones eases the burden of gathering pollen. Gently tapping the pollen cones releases a wealth of pollen. Reaching the pollen cones can be an issue, but enough are usually available on the lower branches. Overall, pine pollen is a fine resource.

Pine seeds (nuts) are an extraordinary wild food. All pine trees produce edible nuts, but only those of a few species are suitable for harvesting. Pinyon pine trees are particularly suitable because they’re short, thus making the cones easy to reach. Cones furnish nuts from August to November, but good crops only occur once every few years. Pinyon pine nuts are delicate, delicious, nutritious, packed with energy, and contained within hard shells. Grinding the nuts, along with the shells, into flour is possible, but shell fragments are hard enough to chip teeth and need to be finely ground. Wild harvested pine nuts taste superior to store bought pine nuts. Pinyon pine nuts taste sweet, oily, and resinous. No acrid overtones compromise the flavor. Roasted pinyon nuts are arguably the finest of all southwestern wild foods. The long maturation period of the cones (22 to 26 months) simplifies the task of determining prime harvesting locations. Trees laden with green cones indicate that a location will be productive the following year, or at least potentially productive. Birds, insects, and diseases claim a big share of the nuts. Plus, a high percentage of cones simply fail to produce nuts, especially during droughts. Harvesting pine cones is a sticky job. Pinyon nuts have twice the energy of acorns, but acorns are twice as likely to be available. Other pine trees produce nuts similar to those of pinyon pines, but reaching them becomes an issue.

NOTES: Singleleaf pinyon (P. monophylla) is the state tree of Nevada, and twoleaf pinyon (P. edulis) is the state tree of New Mexico.

A 100 gram serving of dried pinyon pine (Pinus edulis) nuts contains: 629 kilocalories, 5.90 g water, 11.57 g protein, 60.98 g fat, 19.30 g carbohydrates, 2.26 g ash, 8 mg calcium, 35 mg phosphorus, 234 mg magnesium, 72 mg sodium, 628 mg potassium, 3.06 mg iron, 4.28 mg zinc, 1.035 mg copper, 4.333 mg manganese, 1.243 mg thiamin, 0.223 mg riboflavin, and many other nutrients. Source: USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference.

IDENTIFICATION: Approximately 50 species of the Pinus genus are found in the United States, of which about 15 occur in the Southwest. The number of leaves per cluster is helpful for identification. Only the singleleaf pinyon has solitary leaves. Other pines of the Southwest have 2, 3, or 5 leaves per cluster.

Description of pine trees (the Pinus genus): FORM aromatic, evergreen trees about 7-60 meters tall; LEAVES simple; arranged individually or in clusters of 2-5, these arrangements disposed spirally and sheathed at the bases; blades linear, needle-like, and flexible; FLOWERS absent; represented by ovules and pollen sacs, rather than pistils and stamens; ovulate inflorescences bearing 2 ovules on each scale; staminate inflorescences (pollen cones) yellow, delicate, and bearing 2 pollen sacs on each scale; both genders with scales arranged spirally; FRUITS cones dry, woody, and hanging downward at maturity; seeds winged or wingless; HABITAT throughout the western mountains; blooming in spring or summer.

REFERENCES: Couplan on pages 28-32 indicates that the inner bark, resinous sap, young shoots, and male flowers of all pine trees are edible. Couplan also indicates that the needle-like leaves can be steeped into tea, and that the center portions of young cones can be eaten as vegetables, and that the following species of the Southwest have edible seeds: #1 Mexico pinyon (Pinus cembroides), #2 twoleaf pinyon (Pinus edulis), #3 limber pine (Pinus flexilis), #4 singleleaf pinyon (Pinus monophylla), #5 western white pine (Pinus monticola), and #6 ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa).

Douglas Fir

FAMILY: Pine family (Pinaceae) – Pseudotsuga genus.

SPECIES: Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco).

TO UTILIZE AS FOOD: The inner bark, resinous sap, winter buds, and shoots of Douglas fir are allegedly edible. None of these parts taste very appealing. The inner bark and resinous sap can be utilized like that of other conifers. These parts rank among the worst in the pine family. Winter buds and young shoots taste terribly acrid. These parts are fibrous and barely worth the effort of gathering. Also, the pollen cones and young seed cones (neither of which are reported to be edible) aren’t much better in this species.

Pollen cones of Douglas fir initially look like green berries covered with brown scales. Eventually, they expand and look like tiny ears of yellow corn. Regardless of when they’re gathered, they taste terribly acrid (or at least all those that I sampled tasted terribly acrid). As “berries,” they make a peculiar snack. Interiors are green, fleshy, tender, and resinous. Exteriors are brown, tough, scaly, and bran-like. As “ears of corn,” they have a soft texture, except for the scales near the bases that can easily be removed. Conifer trees usually produce fairly good-tasting pollen cones. Unfortunately, those of Douglas fir taste bad. Even the pollen tastes bad. Pollen cones can be nibbled in small amounts, but a mouthful or more becomes difficult to eat. Cooking does little to improve the flavor. Gathering the pollen cones is relatively difficult because they’re small, sparse, and often out of reach. Despite this condemning review, the pollen cones rank among the better parts of Douglas fir.

Seed cones of Douglas fir are edible when young. In most conifers, central portions of the seed cones (called the cone axes) are tender and filled with tasty sap. Unfortunately, those of Douglas fir are as hard as wood. Even the youngest cone axes are woody and difficult to cut without a power saw! The cone scales are also woody and tend to splinter into fibrous debris when chewed. Baking, boiling, or any method of preparation fails to soften the various parts. Douglas fir seed cones have all the attributes of “famine foods.” The flavor is odd and unappealing, but not too horrendous. Despite the flavor, the seed cones have food value, and the presence of complex carbohydrates is obvious. Cooking improves the flavor, but the improvement is minor. When the seed cones are boiled, the cooking water turns brown and captures some of the carbohydrates. Late spring to early summer is the ideal time to gather the seed cones. Elevation influences this ideal time. Selecting the youngest seed cones offers little advantage because they’re firm at any age. Seed cones are covered with sticky resins that cling tenaciously to anything they come in contact with. Overall, seed cones of Douglas fir make a poor-quality wild food.

IDENTIFICATION: Only 2 species of the Pseudotsuga genus are found in the United States, and only 1 is common in the West. The other species, bigcone Douglas fir (P. macrocarpa), is limited to California. Rocky Mountain Douglas fir (P. menziesii) has 2 varieties. Only the glauca variety grows in the Southwest, Great Basin, and Rocky Mountains. Cone bracts of Douglas firs are distinctive. No other evergreen trees have similar bracts.

Description of Rocky Mountain Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. glauca): FORM evergreen tree up to 50 meters tall; BARK becoming thick and deeply furrowed in age; TWIGS becoming smooth after the leaves fall, the leaf scars only slightly raised; BUDS reddish-brown; LEAVES simple; borne individually and arranged spirally; bases constricted; blades flat, flexible, and 15-35 mm long; lower surfaces with 2 white stripes; upper surfaces lacking stripes; FLOWERS absent; represented by ovules and pollen sacs rather than pistils and stamens; ovulate inflorescences bearing 2 ovules on each scale; staminate inflorescences (pollen cones) yellow, delicate, disposed individually in the leaf axils, and bearing 2 pollen sacs on each scale; FRUITS cones 4-8 cm long, brown, woody, and pendulous; bracts conspicuously 3-pointed and longer than the scales; seeds winged; HABITAT throughout the western mountains above 1,500 meters (about 5,000 feet) elevation. NOTES: The Pacific Douglas fir (P. menziesii var. menziesii) differs mainly by being larger.

REFERENCES: Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii): inner bark, resinous sap, shoots, and leaves Couplan (p. 32).